The Snake's Limb
by 87Above
Summary: Naruto's right arm is completely severed during the Kyuubi's attack, before the sealing takes place. 5 years later our favorite snake makes a ninja career possible.
1. Prologue: The Beginning

**Prologue: The Beginning**

Minato stood on the Hokage monument, staring at the demon fox which was currently destroying his village with a steely calm that only came from years of combat experience. The air around him quickly grew dense as the Kyuubi, strongest of the bijuu, focused its oppressive killing intent upon the Yondaime Hokage. It was a testament to his strength that the man's only reaction was mild surprise that the beast had noticed him so quickly, but then again, he was an awe inspiring figure with a vibrant chakra and a flowing cloak, the flames on the bottom of which appeared to dance in the wind. The demon was unfazed by Minato's presence, and quickly gathered a dark orb of chakra in its mouth, intending to annihilate the village leader and the faces of those before him. As the fox sent the blast of energy careening towards the Hokage, the ninja, with some quick handseals, transported the powerful attack away from the village and into the mountains behind him.

The ensuing explosion lit up the sky, casting Konoha in an eerie, apocalyptic glow. While the population below, both civilians and ninja, had been trembling from the oppressive aura the beast exuded, the presence of their leader, and his ability to negate the attack of such a raging force of nature, sparked some small hope in their hearts. If there was any man capable of defeating the demon, Minato was the one.

Sensing a presence behind him, the fourth quickly spun around with kunai in hand, attempting to stab his attacker through the head. There was a rare look of surprise on his face as his attack phased right through his enemy, now recognized as the same man that had interfered with his son's birth, threatening both other members of the family. The masked individual, no longer under the effects of his space-time jutsu, grabbed Minato's wrist and attempted to warp the young kage into another dimension, intent on preventing interference with the demon's destruction.

Minato, his reflexes barely allowing him to teleport away with his own space-time technique, began to ponder his opponent's abilities only to look up in shock as the cloaked figure slowly appeared right out of thin air to continue his assault on the village leader.

"You won't escape me," came the smug remark from the obviously dangerous man. There was no need to see under his mask, sporting a single eyehole and tiger like markings, to take in the confidence that dripped off his being.

The fourth stared at his enemy, slowly putting together the pieces of the puzzle. The man had been able to infiltrate the village, defeat a team of ANBU, and time his attack for when Kushina, the jinchuuriki of the beast, was most vulnerable. The stranger's further ability to remove and summon the ninetails from the host's body solidified Minato's conclusion.

"Are you… Madara Uchiha?"

The man didn't react except to slip his hood off his hair, subtly demonstrating that with his identity guessed there was no need to hide himself. He amusedly responded to the Hokage's grappling with this new fact and claim that it couldn't be true, glad to see the confusion in the young man's eyes – after all, Madara supposedly died many years ago.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I'm just a humble old man, doing elderly things: starting a war to bring peace."

"It doesn't matter who you are anyways. Anyone who has attacked the village with such deluded goals must be defeated regardless." Minato's reply betrayed the worry he felt; his opponent was apparently able to not only survive a battle with the Shodaime Hokage, but also fake his death to such a powerful ninja. Coupled with his acknowledgment of Madara's destruction intentions, he knew that this was a battle he could not afford to lose.

Madara chose this moment to jump into action, charging straight at the Hokage with a long chain, connected to his wrists behind his back, dragging after him. As Minato once again attempted to stab with his unique three pronged kunai, the old Uchiha allowed the attack to flow right through him, only to unphase just in time for his chain to wrap about the Yondaime. Pulling his chain tight around the blonde haired shinobi, Madara's pleasure at his victory quickly disappeared, along with his trapped opponent.

'_He truly lives up to his moniker "the Yellow Flash,"'_ mused the masked ninja.

Minato was having thoughts of his own. Apparently his enemy was only capable of being hit when he dropped his transparency in order to make an attack of his own. Coming up with a new plan, he initiated the a new charge, both shinobi fluidly racing towards the other. Shortly before their collision, the fourth threw one of his kunai into the eye of his opponent, unperturbed as it sailed right through. Madara, changing tactics from before, attempted to grab his opponent as Minato formed a spiraling ball of chakra, his signature jutsu, the Rasengan, in his right hand.

Dust flew into the air as, at the last minute, the Yondaime used his space-time technique to warp to his kunai, which was now in the air behind Madara, and slam the Rasengan into his enemy's back. However, before fatal damage could be done, the Uchiha managed to escape and put some distance between the two of them, hunched posture and blood dripping down his arm indications of the damage he had received. His visible eye widened in shock as he found the young kage in instantly in front of him, slamming a contract seal into his chest to sever his control of the demon fox. Realizing that his ambitions would have to be put on hold, Madara teleported far away from the village, but not before issuing some parting words to Minato.

"You managed to wound me and wrest the control of the fox away from me, but someday in the future it will be mine once again. At that point both the demon and the world will bow to my desires; there are still many doors open to me."

Minato stared at the empty space Madara had just recently occupied, a feeling of dread settling over him due to his belief that the village founder had been telling the truth. _'No time for that now,' _he thought to himself, _'I have to find a way to deal with the fox.'_ But try as he might, he could not completely push the confrontation out of his mind.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Elsewhere in the forest, leaf shinobi were keeping the demon fox at bay, having successfully driven it out of the village through nothing but their will alone. The powerful mindset known as the 'Will of Fire' was something the ninja prided themselves on – the will to never give up, to do whatever was necessary to preserve Konoha and the Land of Fire. It was this mindset that was causing great frustration to a group of young ninja who were eager to fight against the Kyuubi; however, their elders and commanding officers were ordering them to stand down, saying that this was a problem the village had created, and for that reason those who had created it should be stopping it, not the young who still had much to see in life.

Such concerns were about to be in vain, however, as the enormous demon once again gathered chakra to its mouth for a destructive attack. This time it wasn't the monument that was threatened, but the entire city lying below it. Watching from a distance, the partially recovered Hokage became aware of the danger and instantly managed to summon an enormous toad, crushing the fox into the forest and preventing it from carrying out its attack immediately. The spectators cheered as they saw the summon, smoking a large pipe and bearing tribal markings on its belly, land on the village's attacker. They knew that this was Gamabunta, the boss of the toads, and the Yondaime Hokage's personal summon; it could only mean that their leader had persevered and was back to defeat the enormous bijuu.

Realizing that the fox had somehow managed to retain control over its chakra despite being sat upon by an enormous, wart covered animal, Minato, without hesitation, used a space-time technique to transport both himself and the fox to the distant mountains. Once again, an eerie light filled the sky as the demon's attack detonated. Kneeling on the rocky earth, his wife and child now with him, he asked Kushina to use her abilities to hold down the nine tailed beast. Although nearly out of chakra from the hardships of childbirth and the extraction of the Kyuubi, chains shot out and captured the fox, holding it down as the woman activated her technique and Minato set up a barrier around the area.

The presence of his newborn son was for an obvious reason. Each village had at least one tailed beast sealed into a human host; these jinchuuriki were powerful weapons that maintained a balance of power between the nations. Tradition mandated that the hosts were of relation to the ruling family in order to maintain loyalty to the village. It would be disastrous for a country if their beast ended up in the hands of another. Clearly, Minato was intending to sacrifice the happiness of his son, creating future hardships in order to preserve the village's weapon; it was the unfortunate duty of the Hokage to prioritize the village over his life, and the life of his family. It was for this reason that instead of sealing the beast back into his wife, where it would die and she did, he intended to seal it into his newborn son, Naruto, along with his hopes of a savior from Madara. The cost for such a technique would be his life.

Summoning the death god, Minato performed the first sealing jutsu, pulling half of the foxes chakra into his body in order to allow the sealing of the rest into Naruto. Fighting the numbness caused by the heavy chakra of the demon, he prepared to use a second seal in order to complete the creation of the new jinchuuriki. However, Kushina's concentration momentarily lapsed, allowing the fox, who had now discerned the Yondaime's plan, to stab a claw toward the newborn in an attempt to preserve its own life. Its goal would not be met though, as both mother and father jumped in front of the attack, being stabbed through by the beast but managing to deflect the full attack from Naruto.

That sense of painful relief was quickly removed by Minato's cursing: while the demon had failed to kill the baby, it was only because its corrosive chakra had cauterized the area where Naruto's right arm used to be. Life fading from his eyes, Minato had no choice but to seal the rest of the beast into his son despite the disadvantages that a crippled jinchuuriki would have. Finishing the eight triagrams seal, father and mother collapsed to the ground, dead. The only sound left in the destroyed region was that of a wailing child, and the soft footsteps of the shinobi who raced past the now fallen barrier to rescue him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**5 Years Later**

Naruto, so far, had experienced a difficult life. In addition to the boy only have one arm, the villagers were incredibly nervous around the child, and their fear and hate of the demon fox had impacted the manner in which they treated the young boy. Since his lineage had been kept secret, there was nothing to spare the boy from the harsh treatment aside from the occasional intervention by the Sandaime Hokage. While the old man cared deeply for his successor's son, his duties only allowed him the occasional visit; the most the shinobi could do was provide an apartment and monthly stipend for the child.

The young Uzumaki had just moved into his new apartment. The old Hokage had felt that, sadly, living alone at such a young age would allow for better development than the care he was receiving at the orphanage. He had no friends. The children easily picked up on the manner in which the adults shunned Naruto, and, deciding that he was a target to be bullied, frequently attacked the 5 year old and made childish remarks about his missing limb.

Currently the boy was sitting on his bed, knees huddled to his chest. He knew that nobody liked him because of his disability, and that there was no other reason other kids were adopted while he was passed over until even the Sandaime had given up and sent him to live by himself, where he wouldn't bother anybody. Dressed in an atrocious orange and blue jumpsuit, he hugged the one toy he had: a pug plushy that had been waiting on his bed when he arrived. He jumped in surprise when he heard a knock at the door. The third had just been over to see how he was doing, and he did not think anybody else would be coming by to see him.

He slowly got off his bed and answered the door, coming face to face with a slightly pale man. The individual was wearing ordinary civilian clothes and had long greasy hair tied into a pony tail; Naruto, when he looked up at the man's eyes, could swear that they took on a yellowish tint at the right angle.

"Hi… can I help you mister?" Naruto asked, curious and confused, but still remembering what little manners he had been taught.

"Kukukuku… why yes my little Naruto-kun," the man answered, bringing an arm out from behind his back to reveal a steaming bowl of ramen, "I have a gift for you. May I come in?"

Naruto began to drool from the scent of the noodles. He rarely ate anything tasty, having yet to discover Ichiraku's and always being overcharged at the restaurants and grocers he did frequent. He bounced up and down in excitement.

"Yes!" he replied quickly, before squinting his eyebrows and amending his statement, "…if that food is your gift mister!"

The pale man laughed once again, before nodding, "Of course Naruto-kun, but I have another gift you might be interested in as well."

Any suspicions Naruto might have had were alleviated after he let the man in and took his first bite of ramen. It was delicious! He quickly wolfed down the food, manners going out the window as his stomach took over. Finishing the bowl, he gave a loud burp and a contented sigh before once again realizing that he had company. Company that was now looking him over with a calculating, yet amused, expression.

"Eh… mister… what's the other gift you have?" Naruto shifted in his seat, unable to contain his eagerness. "Is it as good as this food was?"

The man chuckled out a reply, "Kukuku… I think you'll have to be the judge of that yourself, Naruto-kun."

Naruto was about to ask what he meant by that, only to be distracted as his eyelids grew heavy. As his vision blurred, he tried to watch as the stranger got up and moved towards him, only to fail as he fell face first into the now empty bowl of ramen.

His visitor grinned as he scooped up the young boy and tossed him over his shoulder, making towards the door. "Oh Naruto-kun, what I am going to give you is more than you could even know to ask for."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Sandaime had been incredibly preoccupied the past week, ever since Naruto had vanished without a trace. The council had been in an uproar as they feared that another village had gotten its hands on the child and either planned to train it as a weapon or release the beast upon Konoha. His thoughts were interrupted as an ANBU burst into the room.

"Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi looked up at the intrusion, motioning for the ninja to continue.

"We found Naruto Uzumaki sir, just a few minutes ago. He's on his way to the hospital!" The ANBU watched as concern grew in the old man's eyes.

"The hospital? Where was he found and what type of injury does he have?" Sarutobi asked, deeply inhaling from his pipe.

"He was found unconscious on his doorstep. We're not sure what, but something happened to his arm. You should come see for yourself!"

The Sandaime bolted up from his chair, and rushed to the hospital. His mind was filled with terrible concerns – the largest of which was that some sick shinobi had decided to kidnap the boy and make sure to further cripple him by damaging his remaining left arm. Nothing could have prepared him, however, for what he walked into when he entered Naruto's room. His left arm was in pristine condition, but his right was completely covered in bandages. His pipe dropped from his mouth upon the realization: the boy _had _a right arm now.

'_What the hell have you gotten yourself into Naruto…"_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**AN:** I feel like that last reveal was kind of lacking in impact, but couldn't really figure out how to give it more of one. I plan to continue this story, unlike my other one which I am now officially abandoning after the half-ass job I did on the second chapter. I will hopefully update this one! If you guys have any suggestions as far as writing, I am all ears. I'd also be interested in any ideas you have for what ability Naruto ended up with from Oro—er, the pale man's *wink wink nudge nudge*, experimentation. I mean, come on, like he would settle for just giving the kid an ordinary arm?

Anyways I hope you enjoyed the intro, if not I'm sorry but at least it's not all that long ;-)

I ended up dropping the only class I was taking this summer and have an injury preventing me from working out, so I have some time that I will spend on this. After this chapter I'm going to aim for no chapters less than 4000 words, excluding author's notes.


	2. Growing Pains

**AN: **Thank you all for the tremendous response the first chapter got. You guys were blowing up my phone with all the e-mail alerts I was getting! I'm going to take this moment to address a few things that are worth addressing; questions about the future of the plot will be answered by the plot (because even I don't know! I'm kinda making this up as we go).

I both watch the anime and read the manga. Anything in those may show up here, with the exception of anime filler arcs (because really, they always are poor stories with stupid jutsus, such as WORDBIND jutsu… I mean come on; this also means, for example, Naruto will have a unique arm but it won't feel like anything drastically different from the rest of the universe, like filler arc abilities tend to be). All content will be explainable in canon terms, correct me where this is not clear or you think I haven't.

Rating is M, I don't anticipate the majority of content requiring this rating, but adult themes will not be avoided if they come up.

**Chapter 2: Growing Pains**

Hatake Kakashi was ashamed. Since the death of his sensei, the fourth Hokage, 5 years ago, he had done his best to monitor Naruto between missions. As the last memory of Minato, the boy held a special significance to the silver haired ninja. Kakashi, while never making his presence known to the child, made sure that the mistreatment the boy received never went too far, and had even left a housewarming present for the blonde a week ago, on the day the boy had left the orphanage for an apartment of his own. This behavior, that of an aloof older brother, was what led to Kakashi's current feelings; not only had Naruto been abducted in broad daylight, but the masked ninja had been unable to uncover so much as a single clue regarding the nature of the disappearance. His shame, however, was quickly turning into relief and resolve as he entered the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork, stifling a chuckle as he watched the young man hop through an open window. "Kakashi, you're actually on time. The next thing I know you'll be using the door instead of my window."

"Ah, Hokage-sama. It seems that the village's black cats were in hiding today," replied Kakashi, his visible eye squinting comically. "You said you had news about Naruto?"

"That I did. You'll be pleased to know that he was checked into the hospital a few hours ago. He was found unconscious on his doorstep, but is otherwise in pristine condition." Sandaime inhaled deeply from his pipe, savoring the earthy flavor of the tobacco.

Kakashi let a brief pause enter the conversation before continuing, "Surely, if he is as healthy as you say, there is no reason for him to be hospitalized. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

Exhaling loudly, Sarutobi considered the best manner in which to answer the scarecrow's question. Settling for the blunt truth, he began, "It seems that whoever took him from his apartment saw fit to fix his disability. Someone managed to attach, with perfect precision, an appropriately sized arm to the boy; according to the doctors, even the chakra system has been correctly integrated with Naruto's own."

Kakashi's eye nearly popped out of his head, the man unable to contain his shock. "He got his arm back? But who could… or even _would_ do such a thing…"

"You've hit upon the same problem I have, Kakashi." The old man showed his age as a depression settled over him, deepening his wrinkles and accentuating the darkness under his eyes. "There is only one person that I believe to be capable of both capturing the boy, leaving no trace, and attaching an arm with such medical precision: my wayward student, Orochimaru."

Kakashi's relief was dashed against the rocks, sinking into the murky waters of fear with this news. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

"I had my doubts. It seems strange that such a selfish man would commit an act of such apparent generosity. However, it only took a single detail on the medical report to confirm my suspicions." At this he paused, allowing the terrible feeling of suspense to settle into Kakashi's stomach. Noticing the man was clearly ready for him to continue, the Sandaime enlightened the masked ninja, "One of the most concerning aspects of Naruto receiving a new arm is where it might have come from. While we are still running tests in an attempt to determine its origin, we do know one thing for certain: it was removed from a very much living child."

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto groaned as his eyes fluttered open, a hazy bright light transforming into a slightly more tolerable white room. His head was throbbing from whatever medicine he had been kept under with, and his mouth was completely dry, causing his breath to come out in a slight rasp. The worst of the pain though was coming from his right chest and shoulder; it was a constant dull throbbing until he made any kind of movement, even a shallow breath, at which point it would explode in a fiery agony, causing the boy to whimper from the pain. The sapphire eyed child pushed past the pain and began to take in his surroundings, only to grow slightly disappointed upon the realization that there was not much to take in. He was in a simple bed, covered with white sheets, white blankets, a white pillow, and, to his surprise, Pojo, his pug plushy. The rest of the white-walled room was a similarly boring, nothing occupied it except the potent odor of cleaning supplies, and a bag of fluid, an IV connecting it to the top of his left hand.

"Nnh… what happened," muttered Naruto to nobody in particular, wincing as his right arm lit up in pain. _'My right arm…'_

"AAH!" His caution abandoned him as he bolted upright in surprise, only to continue screaming for an entirely different recent after his sudden movement, falling back down on to the bed.

His noise brought his room to the attention of the hospital's medical staff, and a nurse quickly rushed into the room, giving the boy a nervous look before attending to him. Putting a soothing hand on his chest, she spoke quietly, in an almost motherly voice, to Naruto, "You shouldn't move so quickly, it's likely that you are in a lot of pain right now. We haven't given you anything to numb it in order to speed up the waking process. We'll make it better soon, okay? You'll just have to speak to Hokage-sama first. Can you do that for me?"

Naruto nodded slowly, still confused about his current situation. "Old man Hokage is here?" came his rasping reply.

Slightly stunned by the informal manner with which the boy referred to the village leader, the nurse shook her head before answering his question. "He's not here yet, but he will be very soon okay? I promise. Is there anything I can do for you before he gets here?"

The boy forced out a single word in reply, "Pojo!"

"Pojo?" The nurse's brow was furrowed in confusion, only to be replaced with understanding as she spied the toy dog toward the head of the bed. She quickly grabbed it and placed it in Naruto's left hand, happy to see the comfort that his companion brought him.

Their moment was interrupted as two men and a teenager hastily entered the room. One of them, a middle aged man dressed in a white doctor's coat, began to speak, "Pardon the interruption Naruto, my name is Dr Yakushi, and I am a chief of medicine at this hospital. You of course know Sarutobi-sama," he gestured to the old man with a wave of his hand, "and this is my son Kabuto, who is a student of medicine here. He won't be working on you at this point in time, just observing." At this the silver haired boy, wearing a very bright Konoha forehead protector, gave a large smile to Naruto.

Dr Yakushi paused for a moment, before addressing the nurse, "Keiko, you are dismissed for now. I'll send Kabuto to inform you when we're finished here, at which point you can administer some morphine to the poor boy."

Naruto, scowling as he watched Keiko exit the room, was annoyed that the doctor had sent her off. She had made him feel much more comfortable in the brief time she had attended to him. His annoyance was put on hold as the Sandaime stepped forward and began to speak, "Naruto, Dr Yakushi is going to explain what has happened to you," the man in question nodded, "and make sure you are paying complete attention" finished the old man, easily reading the emotion that was painted on Naruto's face.

'_That boy is already turning into a real firecracker,' _mused the Hokage.

Dr Yakushi took over the room, "Naruto, what I am going to explain might be a little bit confusing for you, but don't worry if some of the things are difficult to understand. To begin, at the simplest level, you no longer have only one arm; you seem to have gained an appendage during your time away from the village, and it should be fully functional after enough physical therapy." After this statement, Naruto's eyes were bugging out of his skull and any annoyance he had felt at the absence of the nurse drowned in the sea of excitement that rose up in his chest.

'_Now people will recognize me! Nobody will make fun of me anymore!' _These and similar thoughts were parading through the boy's head.

The doctor continued, "It is, however, going to hurt a lot for quite some time. The procedure that was used, while easily the most effective for granting you an arm, slightly altered your chakra circulatory system in your right shoulder area, in order to allow for the seamless use of chakra in the future."

Naruto interrupted loudly, much to the amusement of those in the room, "HEY! What's chattra?"

The Sandaime put his face into his palm; despite all the work he had put into Naruto's manners the boy couldn't seem to keep them up for anything more than an introduction. "Naruto, _chakra _is what allows ninja to use their techniques. What this means is that, if you still want to, you can become a ninja someday."

The blonde haired boy was ecstatic. He could still remember the day when he first told the Hokage that he wanted to become a powerful ninja, only to be absolutely crushed when the old man let him down gently as possible. From that day forward he had been much more conscious of his missing arm. His excitement even trumped the pain he was causing himself by energetically shifting about, "Geezer, I'll become the strongest shinobi in the world!"

Sarutobi addressed the other two occupants in the room, enormous sweatdrops on their foreheads, "I'd like to ask him my questions now if you don't mind. I don't think there's much reason to explain what happened to him in any more detail. I somehow doubt he would be listening anyways." At this Sarutobi glanced sideways at the 5 year old boy who was clearly off in a fantasy; in his mind he was standing on a pile of defeated ninja, Hokage cloak and hat adorning his body and exceptionally muscular right arm.

"Naruto, it was very nice to meet you," spoke Dr Yakushi as he opened the door and moved out into the hallway. His silver-haired son followed him out, not saying a word but looking back at the blonde with what seemed to be an exceptional amount of interest.

The Sandaime wasted no time in beginning his conversation with Naruto, "I'm sure you want to know why you are here, don't you?" At this the boy nodded, while young he had still noticed how strange his situation was. The old man continued, "A week ago, the same day you moved into your own apartment, someone kidnapped you from the village. We searched everywhere, but were unable to find you until just a few hours ago when you were discovered on your doorstep, arm and all. I was wondering what you remember before waking up here?"

Naruto struggled to answer the question. He knew that something had happened, but it was shrouded in a fog. He looked down and spoke, "I think someone came to my door, and I let them in because they had delicious food. They were very nice… but that's all I remember. I'm sorry old man." Tears began to form in his eyes as he felt he was letting down one of his only precious people.

Realizing that the boy had been through quite a lot, coupled with the frustration he was feeling at his inability to provide any useful information and the pain that his body was in, Sarutobi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Never apologize for what you can't control, Naruto. It is likely that whoever came to your door gave you some medicine that put you to sleep and affected your memory. I think you are very strong for remembering that much through all the pain you are in. I think it's safe to say you'll be a very strong ninja in the future."

At this the boy's tears dried up and a smile once again decorated his face, "You know it old man!"

Pleased at having brought cheer to the young child, the Hokage decided to make his leave. "I think Keiko is waiting outside for you, so I'll check in with you later Naruto. Behave yourself and listen to the doctors!"

"Bye geezer Hokage!" Naruto all but shouted, instantly regretting it as pain seized his body. It had been easier to ignore awhile ago, but now that things were settling down he did not have much else to focus on.

The Hokage nodded to the young lady waiting outside of the room, secretly impressed with how well she seemed to take care of the boy. He had been concerned that fear of what lay within the blue eyed child would affect the treatment that he received. The old man was quite proud of the nurse for conquering her fears so quickly, and planned to write a glowing recommendation.

Back in the room, Naruto was smiling as 'Keiko-chan' injected the strong painkiller into the IV. The second the medicine kicked in, his eyelids became heavy and forced him into a deep sleep, smile still on his face as he let himself dream about being a ninja.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It had been a month since Naruto was released from the hospital, only a few days after he was admitted. The necessary tests had been run, in an attempt to figure out the origin of his limb, and the doctors felt no need to keep a perfectly healthy child under observation for any extended period of time – especially since he was coming by daily for his physical therapy. While the boy was incredibly frustrated with his inability to adequately use his new appendage, his determination to join the Academy, which he was told he could do once he gained acceptable control of his arm, drove him to endure the sessions; if there is one attribute that describes Naruto best, it's his will to never give up.

The blonde was currently working on his least favorite exercise, which involved attempting to navigate his arm through a moderate sized hole. It was only a week ago that he had gained the ability to consistently move his arm, albeit slowly, at the shoulder joint: twisting it, raising it, and lowering it with shaky control. And therein was the root of his frustration: the exercise was not hard, was only mildly painful, was not tiring, but despite all his determination and effort he could not make his body do what he wanted it to.

"I hate this stupid thing!" Naruto, feeling more or less like his usual self again, was of course shouting at the object of his annoyance, and, in the process, annoying everybody else who had the misfortune to be doing their therapy at the same time he was.

"Naruto! Quiet! There are other people here and you need to behave," spoke his stout therapist, a man by the name of Hiroto. He pushed his glasses up his nose, running his hand over his bald head. He harbored a great deal of resentment toward the Hokage for his current situation. As the most experienced of the therapists, he had been the ideal choice for Naruto's case; the only problem was that the man was incredibly wary of the boy he considered the 'demon brat.' At first he was incredibly angry that Sarutobi had forced him to accommodate the needs of the child, and even insisted that Naruto be treated with respect and politeness, but the reason he didn't like the boy was slowly changing. He now knew without a doubt that this boy was no different from any other child, except for his utter lack of manners. He was pretty sure the blonde did not even know his name, as he only reffered to Hiroto as "Four Eyes," causing the man to develop a habit of twitching every time Naruto spoke to him.

Naruto reacted to the scolding by casting a deep glare at Hiroto and shouting, "You're even louder than I am you four eyed geezer!"

Hiroto twitched, both at the manner with which the boy referred to him and at the childish, and false, accusation that was even louder than his original transgression. Deciding to drop the entire issue, he encouraged Naruto to get back on task, "Concentrate, we only have five more minutes together and then we can each go our separate ways. Or is it that you just don't really want to be a ninja?" He chuckled to himself, knowing exactly which buttons to push to get the boy to work.

His amusement ended abruptly, however, as Naruto shouted his reply, "I'm going to be the best ninja ever Four Eyes! You just watch! My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" If the entire room was not looking at them before, they were now. All they saw, however, was a young boy completely dedicated to pushing his arm through a hole.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It was five months later that Naruto was found in the Hokage's office, incredibly nervous about the task in front of him; Hiroto was going to present a report on his progress in order to put Naruto up for enrollment into the ninja Academy. While the blonde was quite young, the Academy placed emphasis on geography, history, writing, and math at his age since, in this time of peace, it was no longer necessary to force ninja onto the battlefield as quickly as possible; the Hokage felt that the experience would be beneficial for the boy, allowing him to gain a basic understanding of the ninja world as well as make some friends. As long as he could demonstrate enough use of his arm to participate in the basic exercises of the school's physical education, he would be allowed entry.

Sarutobi was surprised at the determination, and nervousness, that Naruto was displaying. It was quite evident that the child had a great desire to become a ninja, and was therefore terrified of failing this test. Hiroto had assured the Hokage that the boy was more than capable of performing the necessary movements, but apparently Naruto was unaware that he would pass so long as he showed up. Deciding to start the discussion, and save the boy from feeling as if a dark abyss was opening up right under his feet, the Sandaime quietly spoke, nodding to the other occupants of the office, "Hiroto, Naruto," he paused, "As I'm sure you are both aware, enrollment for the Academy will be ending shortly, and for this reason we need to make a decision as to Naruto's readiness." Looking towards the boy, the third continued with a smile, "Don't be too nervous Naruto. Hiroto has spoke highly of your improvements, and even if we decide you aren't ready yet, I will make sure you get to attend if that changes by the time class starts."

Naruto relaxed at this news, though he was surprised that Hiroto had praised him. _'I shouldn't worry. Old man Hokage and Four Eyes_ _both have faith in me, and even if I mess up I will still have time to improve!'_

Hiroto began to speak, "Sandaime-sama, Naruto has made remarkable progress in the use of his arm since we began working together six months ago. At first he could hardly make it twitch on command," at this Naruto scowled, "but now he has full movement of his arm, and the only room for improvement is in the dexterity of his fingers; however, as he is left-handed, he should be able to perfect his capabilities in that area before the Academy teaches any weapons training. He still has some minor pain with any rapid movement, but he is as tough as he is loud and is not hindered by it."

Sarutobi briefly interrupted, "He is still hurting after all this time?"

"It's nothing for concern. Such a reworking of the chakra system takes an enormously long time to fully heal; even then, he has been healing exponentially faster as time goes on." Hiroto turned to look at Naruto, pushing his glasses up his nose, "Naruto, if you can just demonstrate a couple exercises for the Hokage, we can finish this meeting and put you on the enrollment list."

Fire entered the boy's eyes as he prepared himself to make the man he considered his grandpa proud. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!" he shouted. "Four Eyes has trained me well!"

Amused at how serious Naruto was about his 'training,' Sarutobi risked a question to the twitching Hiroto, "Four Eyes?"

The middle aged therapist glared at Naruto before answering, "Perhaps the Academy will teach him some manners. Everyone who has been for therapy in the past half year knows that's exactly what the boy needs."

Naruto was fidgeting, feeling ignored and anxious to get on with his test. "Hey! I'm ready! What do I do!"

The Third once again turned to the blonde before answering his question, "Nothing too difficult. If you can do ten pushups and make a fist you will have adequately demonstrated the physical abilities necessary to keep up with the Academy's physical training."

The blonde paused as a large sweatdrop appeared on his forehead. "I've been worried about this…?"

Sarutobi chuckled, "Naruto, for students your age the Academy focuses on very basic physical conditioning. You'll start to learn taijutsu in your second year once you have some strength built up. This is just a test to make sure your arm won't leave you behind the rest of your class, it shouldn't be difficult if you are ready!"

"Well here we go!" Naruto quickly pumped his right arm into the air, making a fist and passing what was actually the more challenging requirement considering his situation. After that he dropped onto the floor of the office and quickly did the pushups, not even letting a wince enter his expression despite the mild pain he felt during the exercise. He then jumped up and looked at the Sandaime, eagerness written on his face. "I told you! You better watch out old man, I'll be the number one ninja before you know it!" His antics brought a smile to both Sarutobi and HIroto's face.

"Well done, Naruto! There is just one question you have to answer before I can put your name on the list." The Hokage laughed at the cheated face Naruto made in response. "Don't get upset yet, this are just part of the enrollment process that all future students have to go through."

Naruto nodded, showing his understanding.

Sarutobi adopted a serious expression as he began, "Being a ninja is about turning your life over to the village, Naruto. You will risk death in order to accomplish your missions and protect the village. If you don't understand this, you cannot hope to become a shinobi of Konoha." The Sandaime paused in his lecture, happy that Naruto had nothing but resolve painted on his face, "With this in mind, are you willing to serve the village you love in order to preserve peace and prosperity for the people who live here?"

Naruto didn't even bat an eye as he answered, "I am! I'll protect anybody who needs my help, because that will be my job as number one ninja!"

Both men smiled once again, pleased with the eagerness of his answer. "Well, congratulations Naruto, you've just accomplished your first step to becoming a full-fledged Shinobi. I'll send someone to take you to the Academy on your first day. Now, being that it's almost time for my lunch break, what do you say that I take you out for some ramen?"

An orange blur shouted, "Hurry up geezer!" as it exited the room to celebrate its first milestone towards accomplishing its dream.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**AN: **Well, there it is. Not the most exciting chapter, but things will pick up as Naruto has his first day at the Academy. I'm not planning on spending too much time on it, and intend to timeskip to the graduation exam with only a few moments over the years. If there are a lot of people interested in more time spent on the "Academy years" though, I am willing to write it. Personally though I am aching for some combat!


	3. The Academy

The air was cool and damp. It seemed inappropriate that human life existed in such a place. Far below the ground, in a convoluted maze of tunnels, was a facility few had had the privilege of visiting, and even fewer had done so willingly. The moans and cries of the cursed prisoners echoed softly throughout the corridors and created a hellish atmosphere – one could not help but feel the death god himself dwelled in this place. The sound of voices and the quiet shuffling of footsteps dampened the sounds as two figures slipped into the flickering torchlight that lit this specific hallway; one look at the master of this lair, however, revealed the earlier sentiment to be incorrect : it was quite clear that what lived here could not necessarily be considered human anymore.

Orochimaru was in a good mood. His spies reported that there had, thus far, been no adverse reactions in his experiment on Naruto. He was slightly disappointed that he had to conceal the changes he made to the child, but if he had not it was likely the council would have forced the boy to go armless once again; after all, no village wants an unknown experiment, produced by its greatest missing nin, running around town unchecked. In hiding his tinkering he had assured that his kind hearted sensei would, with no apparent reason to do otherwise, fight unrelentingly for the boy's dream of becoming a ninja.

This, however, was only slightly responsible for the Snake's current glee. Orochimaru had been incredibly fortunate to find the sole survivor of the Kaguya clan during his journey to the Land of Water; that the boy was a child easily susceptible to the man's influences _and_ had an active bloodline was icing on the cake. Such a gift in the present easily outweighed his hopes for his awakening experiment. Turning down a tight corridor, he pointed out a room to the young boy in his company, "You will stay here, Kimimaro. Someone will come and get you shortly; in the meantime, be sure to make yourself at home here. You are likely destined to become my greatest disciple!"

Smirking at the effect his words had on the young child, he glided further down the hallway until he arrived at the door to his private study, _'Once I complete my jutsu I am sure that boy will throw down his life for my ambitions. Let us hope he's capable of surviving the Curse Seal.'_

He opened the door and slid inside. As he moved to light a torch to illuminate his research, the wind was knocked out of him and he was slammed into the concrete wall, blood dripping from the large gash that he now sported, already causing his hair to mat. He quickly began to fly through the necessary hand seals to make his escape from the powerful hand that was now choking the life out of him, but he was interrupted as his attacker impaled the Snake's stomach with a black rod, interfering with Orochimaru's chakra and movement, leaving the Sannin at the mercy of his opponent.

"Orochimaru," an emotionless voice began, "perhaps you can explain to us why the Nine-tails has two arms. Our previous information made it quite clear that he only had one."

Looking into the rippled eyes of the man in front of him, the Snake Sannin knew he was in trouble. "Leader-sama," he wheezed out, "you shouldn't worry about such things. I have only made him easier to capture when the time comes." Quivering from the terrifying power that was holding his body in place, the ex-Konoha ninja continued, "he will be helpless to stop me."

Releasing his hold upon the Akatsuki member, 'Leader' offered some parting words, "Do not forget where your loyalties lie. Should you become a liability I will not hesitate to have you removed."

Orochimaru watched as the man disappeared in a puff of smoke, inwardly seething at the humiliation the powerful ninja had caused him. With both hands he slowly pulled out the rod holding him in place and let it fall to the floor with a loud clang; he cursed as blood began to leak out of the now open wound in his stomach and dribbled onto the floor. Even though his regenerative powers would prevent any long term damage from the attack, the Snake Sannin would not be eating any time soon.

'_Go ahead and play god, boy. Death itself will soon be meaningless to me.'_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto woke slowly to the soft pattering of water falling to the floor of the cave; the resulting echoes, however, served only to confuse him as he realized he had no idea where he was, or how he had gotten there. He picked himself off of the floor, shivering from the dampness his clothes had stolen from the rocks, and attempted to look around the cave. His eyes strained in the darkness, incapable of illuminating him to his surroundings, let alone his location.

"Hello?" he shouted out, unsurprised when the only response he received was his own voice. "Where am I…"

The sound of sliding rocks caused the blonde boy to spin around frantically, vainly searching for the source of the noise. "Who's there?" His voice came out as an unintimidating squeak as unease wormed itself further into his heart.

He was about to open his mouth once more when he noticed a small, hazy image in the center of his vision. As it grew larger, his ears perked up to the splashing sounds of light footsteps in puddles. Gripped by a sudden impatience, the boy rushed forward towards whoever was approaching only to halt shortly after upon realizing that his distance between the individual remained static. Confusion and wonder took hold of Naruto, who was growing increasingly concerned about this strange world he woke up in. Keeping his eyes focused, he waited patiently for whoever was here to make their presence known. The details of the approaching figure were growing sharper – they were wearing some sort of orange outfit, had bright blonde hair, and… Naruto recoiled in horror upon noticing the whisker marks and realizing that he was looking at a strangely quiet version of himself who, by this time, was only a few feet away and no longer moving.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, "what's going on! Who are you! Where am I?"

His doppelganger continued to stare off into space with a blank expression on his face, showing no acknowledgement that he had heard the boy.

Naruto grumbled as frustration welled up inside him. He began waving his hands in front of his guest, growing angry as his antics were still failing to gather the attention of the other. Realizing that no other options were left, the boy reached his hand out toward the other 's shoulder, intending to shake him awake; however, he watched in horror as his touch turned his doppelganger into what appeared to be a statue, until it began to melt into the floor. Fingers slowly took the form of small white snakes as the body stretched and lost its rigor; soon the other boy was nothing more than a mass of writhing serpents, hissing as they dissolved into the floor of the cave.

Naruto shuddered as he watched the last one disappear into the ground. "What the hell was that?" he wondered aloud.

"Why it was you, of course!" hissed an amused voice, incredibly close to his right. The boy turned to look at the newcomer only to be gripped in complete terror upon noticing that his right arm had been replaced with a large white snake wearing a smirk, its body seamlessly attached to his shoulder. Before Naruto had any chance to respond, the serpent bolted forward, growing longer and thicker as it wrapped about the child's neck, causing him to gasp for breaths that wouldn't come.

All Naruto saw as consciousness left him were the cold yellow eyes of his assailant, drowning him in their malice.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto bolted upright, gasping for air in his bedroom. He was covered in a cold sweat, and his bedsheets were tangled around his legs and neck, restricting his movement and likely the cause of his dream. Slowly unraveling himself from their oppressive grip, he took a glance at the clock on his nightstand, wincing when he saw it was only six in the morning.

'_There's no way I'm getting any more sleep after that.'_ With this thought, the boy crawled off of his bed and began to turn on all the lights in his apartment, drowning out the morning light that was drifting through his blinds. Putting some water on the stove in preparation for a hearty breakfast of ramen, Naruto then replaced his sleepwear with one of the orange jumpsuits that was littering his floor and began to pace in an attempt to take his mind off of his nightmare. Adrenaline was still rushing through his body and demanding movement – the entire experience had felt undeniably real, despite its impossibilities. Deciding that the water would be warm enough, he poured it into a cup of ramen and began to wolf it down while continuing to pace around his apartment. He had just finished his meal when a knock at the door nearly caused him to jump out of his clothes.

Naruto warily turned the handle to greet the stranger at his doorstep, an attractive, black-haired young woman with piercing red eyes sporting a leaf forehead protector. Gathering himself, the boy pondered aloud, "Eh? Who are you?"

Confused at the nonchalance the boy was exhibiting which, from her information, was contrary to his usual behavior, the woman answered the boy's question while wearing a curious expression, "My name is Kurenai Yuhi, and I'm here to escort you to the Academy. Didn't Hokage-sama mention that you would be shown to the grounds on your first day?"

Naruto's mouth opened wide as he realized he had completely forgotten that today was the first day of class. Without his nightmare he would not have been awake right now! His previous troubles now forgotten, Naruto began to shout while jumping up and down frantically, "That's today! Argh! I completely forgot! Are we going to be late? Do I need anything?"

His concerns were forgotten in a deep blush as Kurenai put her finger to his lips and spoke to him softly, "Shhh. We won't be late and you just need yourself. Now if you're ready, we can head out?"

Naruto began to scratch the back of his head nervously, "Hehehe, of course I'm ready, onee-chan!" With that he left a blinking Kurenai as he bolted out of his apartment, only to fall in a heap as he collided with a strange creature that had been hiding behind the woman's leg. He opened his eyes, wondering what happened and began to blush again when he came face to face with a panicked looking purpleaired girl with the strangest white eyes.

Hinata made an "Eep!" noise and scrambled to her feet, dusting herself off from the collision Naruto's excitement had caused. She once again hid herself behind the jounin, barely willing to let her head peak around the woman's leg.

Naruto was back on his feet and scratching his head once more. "Ehhhhehe sorry about that! I didn't see you there!" His nervousness quickly left and was replaced by excitement and meeting someone new. "My name's Naruto! What's yours?"

Hinata stammered out a response, put off by the boy's enthusiasm "My… my name is Hinata. It's ni-nice to meet you, Na-naruto."

Kurenai watched the exchange with an amused expression on her face. "Well, if you two are done getting to know one another we should head off to the Academy. You don't want to be late on your first day!"

Two pairs of eyes turned her way and nodded. The group began to trot off in the direction of the school, and, with that, Naruto's career as a ninja was finally starting.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto resisted the urge to join Hinata behind Kurenai's leg as they traversed the sea of students and their parents; the looks he received from some of the adults as they began whispering to their children would make any young boy anxious. Taking in glimpses of the school grounds amongst the forest of legs, the boy steeled himself and plastered a smile on his face before turning to his companion, attempting to drown his nervousness in conversation. "Hinata-chan, what powerful ninja skills do you think we'll learn today?"

"I'm n-not sure N-Naruto. I heard the Academy will place e-emphasis on the village's h-history and ideals for the first few y-years," Hinata replied, failing to exude the stoic façade of a Hyuuga child.

"What?" Clenching his fist, Naruto continued, "The old man promised I would get to become a ninja and he sends me off for some dumb history lessons? When I have his job I won't make students learn about useless things like that!"

Hinata was unsure how to reply and began to fumble over words in her head, only to feel a great sense of relief as Kurenai interjected as they reached what appeared to be their classroom. "Naruto, I hope you won't cause any trouble for your sensei. I would think you would be quite interested to learn all about the Hokages, seeing as you want to inherit the position someday. How can you expect to be a good leader if you don't understand the village's history?" Naruto had the good sense to look bashful as his escort deflated his outrage. "Now then, this is the classroom you will have for the next year. I hear your sensei is a kind man by the name of Daikoku Funeno."

Kurenai paused to glance at Hinata, who was shuffling her feet nervously. "Hinata, I will pick you up this afternoon in order to escort you back to the Hyuuga estate.

"H-hai Kurenai-san."

As Kurenai turned to leave, she was stopped by the much quieter voice of Naruto, "Onee-chan… can I walk back with you too?" Naruto had noticed that most of the villagers had ignored him on the way over to the school grounds, and was hoping that her presence would make his journey back just as easy.

The beautiful woman gave a quick pause before replying. "I don't see any reason why you can't. You're welcome to join us as long as Hinata is okay with it."

"Of course he can!" Hinata all but shouted out, before squeaking and turning into a tomato.

Kurenai grinned, "Well I guess that settles it then. Be good for your sensei and I'm sure you can each graduate as very strong ninja." With that, she walked down the creaky wooden hallway and disappeared around the corner, leaving the two children to their own devices.

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other, before the blonde pushed open the door to the classroom and stepped inside. They were surprised to find that despite the overcrowding in the courtyard, almost every seat was already occupied.

Naruto quickly grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged the blushing girl to a pair of seats, not wanting to be alone in this new environment. As the blue-eyed boy began to sit down, he was interrupted by a deep voice from the front of the classroom. "Uzumaki-san, a ninja should pay attention to his surroundings. Why don't you read the nametag in front of you?"

Naruto turned towards the stout teacher, a man with a rounded face and a good natured expression. He was dressed in the standard chuunin uniform and wore his forehead protector as a bandana. The only thing that stood out about the ninja was the small patch of brown hair that made up his goatee. Scratching the back of his head, Naruto mumbled out the name written on the desk, "Sakura.. Haruno." Adopting a troubled expression, Naruto continued to think out loud as the rest of the class chuckled at him, "Eh? We have to sit alphabetically!"

Grinning, Daikoku pointed towards the far back corner of the room, "It seems you're fortunate enough to get a window seat. But don't let me catch you slacking off back there!"

Naruto trudged up the stairs to his row, taking note of the black-haired, onyx-eyed boy occupying the seat next to his own. Taking his seat, he turned to the Uchiha with a smile and tried to make a good impression. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage! What's your name?"

Sasuke smirked at the new arrival before pointing at his own nametag, "What's wrong, haven't learned to read yet? I believe that's a prerequisite for becoming Hokage."

Naruto's face began to grow hot as he gritted his teeth and barely resisted the urge to punch the rude-mannered child. "I'll show you!" he yelled out, "I'll be the best ninja in the village by the end of this year!"

The Uchiha adopted an uninterested expression and turned away from Naruto with a muttered "Hn."

Realizing that his deskmate was not going to provide any form of entertainment, the blonde academy student began to take in his surroundings. The classroom seemed to be completely composed of sandy wooden planks with the exception of the large blackboard in the front of the room and the numerous large windows adorning Naruto's side of the classroom. He sighed as he took in the few inspirational posters that decorated the otherwise sparse walls, one of which proudly proclaimed that "the direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life." The sapphire-eyed boy hoped he never had to meet that boring Plato guy. Resigning himself to an uneventful day, his attention was quickly recovered by a bright flash of pink at the doorway. The girl smiled in his direction and began to wave excitedly as she adopted a blush.

Naruto grinned and began to wave back. 'So pretty…' His action immediately caused the girl to cast a glare at him as she spun around to take the seat he had tried to occupy earlier. He took on a whimsical expression, continuing to glance in her direction as he committed her dazzling features to memory. 'Sakura –'

His thoughts were interrupted by Daikoku's booming voice. "Alright, now that everyone is here we can get started. I'm glad that all of you have decided to enroll in the Leaf Village's Ninja Academy; the career of a ninja lets you serve the village and take care of the people you love." A grimace flashed across the teacher's face as his eyes wandered over Naruto.

"I'm sure that we will all have a good time getting to know each other. We will spend most of the day studying history, math, reading, and working on your writing skills. After our lunch break, we will play a lot of outdoor games before you all get to go home for the day. Now, how about we go around the room and introduce ourselves…"

Daikoku's voice was quickly tuned out by Naruto has he stared out the window, paying no attention to the chuunin's instructions. His eyes latched onto a pale blue bird, and he briefly regretted being stuck inside on such a day before settling in to endure the grueling machine of Academia.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kurenai waited patiently for her charges to appear. It was now fifteen minutes after school had let out, and neither Naruto nor Hinata were anywhere to be seen. Many of the other students had already gone home, and the red-eyed woman was curious as to the reason for the delay. Unconcerned, but deciding it was her duty to make sure nothing had happened, she walked down the hallway, stopping next to Hinata outside of the classroom.

"Hinata, I thought you were going to come out to meet me?"

Hinata jumped up, startled, not having noticed the approach of her escort. "G-gomen Kurenai-san. Naruto has to stay after to clean the e-erasers and w-wanted m-me to w-wait for him." Her cheeks lit up as she reached the end of her explanation.

Kurenai was unsurprised. She had had a feeling that Naruto would not be able to make it through the day without getting into some form of trouble. She turned the handle of the door and pushed it open just in time for an eraser to end its flight on the bridge of her nose, the white dust obscuring her view of the blonde academy student whose eyes were on the verge of popping out of his skull.

"Onee-chan! I'm so sorry please don't hate me I didn't mean to I'll never do it again please don't be mad at me it was an accident I'm so sorry I didn't want to hit you it just slipped and I didn't know you were there and –"

"NARUTO!" The boy's rapid apology was interrupted by Daikoku's shouting. "Just for that you're going to clean the erasers tomorrow as well! Until you can do it without assaulting a jounin!" The normally calm man had a completely red face. Naruto had fallen asleep before the students had even finished introducing themselves, and because of it had been forced to stay after. What should have been a two minute job turned into a much longer one when the boy began to argue with his instructor, the results of which led to his current predicament: two very upset ninja.

Turning to the woman who was standing in the doorway, Daikoku began to apologize for the boy only to be shocked as Kurenai began to laugh. Cutting off his attempts to reconcile the situation, she entered the classroom and grabbed Naruto by the hand while trying to keep a smile off of her face. Filling the role of his older sister perfectly, she apologized for the blonde. "I'm sorry for the trouble _this one _has caused you," The child began to sweat at her choice of words, wondering what his soon to be cut short future would hold. Kurenai continued, with a mock-glare thrown at the boy for good measure, "it seems I'll have to talk to him about respecting his elders. Come on Naruto, it's time to go."

The trio quickly exited the school building, leaving behind an annoyed instructor. Daikoku put his palm into his face and exhaled, cursing whatever god had saddled him with the blonde troublemaker.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**A/N:**

Sorry about the tremendous amount of time it took for me to update this. And for how shitty the second half of the chapter is. I hope the Orochimaru and Pein moment didn't seem strange, I was trying to add a little bit of action since it doesn't seem like that part of the story is going to get rolling for a bit longer. There are good reasons why Pein let him off with his life as well :-)

Also, since I'm sure all the Hinata-Naruto interaction will have it crossing your mind… I don't intend to pair them together in any sort of romantic way. I'm not sure I will write any romance at all in this story, but if it happens it happens; if I do, however, it will be with women that have some more fire in them. After all, it's kind of necessary to keep that boy in line, and being attracted to that kind of woman myself it'd be easier to write.

As always I appreciate your comments, concerns, questions, etc. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please be gentle, I'm still a novice as far as writing goes.


	4. Trial by Fire

**AN: Sorry this took awhile. My computer died, and with it... well, I'm sure you can imagine! New one arrived recently. Did not want to shell out a thousand bucks in addition to Christmas shopping, but I guess that's life sometimes! I wrote this today over the course of 3 hours straight. I hope you enjoy it, please bring to my attention anything that might need editing.**

Konohagakure was covered by a thin veil of fog that dampened the beauty of the sunrise. The gate guards watched their breath as the chilled air nipped at unprotected extremeties, the ninja unable to deny the change of season. The new sun then broke through the wisps of moisture and bounced off the Hokage monument, bringing to light ghosts of the past and stirring the memories of the Sandaime, who observed the village from his tower. Konoha had always been unique amongst the hidden villages; it championed a cause of peace and justice, the words of the former Hokages testifying to this fact, but as its leaders and teachers gave flowery speeches in the classrooms and public arena, the roots of the village were sucking every last nutrient from the surrounding soil. A mighty tree glows as a beacon of hope and peace to an external observer while the same leaves, those reflecting the sunlight with such beauty, cast shadows on the forest floor below.

Danzo surveyed the scene before him briefly before once again turning his eyes to the satchel in his hand. The man before him was nothing more than disease personified, and far less interesting than the wads of cash he had so recently been parted with. Quite a few of ROOT's national accounts, the majority of which belonged to deceased civilians and ninja, had been shut down by the Fire Country Central Bank over the past few months. His organization, as a result, had begun to face liquidity problems and been forced to delay several expensive operations while waiting for international assets to be physically transferred into the city. His musing were cut short by the stuttering speech of the man he was currently meeting with.

"Th-that's your c-cut for this past month, Oak-sama." This person was different than the usual employees Danzo was afflicted with. Not dressed in rags that hid the scars of needles from the outside world but the finery of a professional, this one was clearly closer to the top than the previous messengers. Of course, the elder thought to himself, a bag cannot mask the stench of garbage, no matter how finely made.

Sighing to himself, Danzo responded curtly, "I don't believe we were discussing that aspect of our relationship. Don't waste my time." In a hurry to expedite the process, ROOT's leader activated the hypnotic powers of Shishui's Sharingan. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Why have your people began selling to Konoha's ninja?"

His stuttering erased by the trance-like state he had entered, the shipping company's second in command responded, "Yusuke-sama's instructions."

Danzo felt no surprise at this revelation. If he had not suspected such a thing, he would not have asked. The confirmation, however, was enough to support the future actions he would have to take. "We had a simple arrangement. My ninja would ensure your product arrived safely both in Konoha and the Nation of Fire as a whole. In return we asked nothing more than a percentage of sales and a no-sell policy to ninja." The man before him once again began to shake, well aware of what such a betrayal might mean for his future. "Fortunately for you, Gato-san, I'll need somebody with knowledge of your operation to replace Yusuke. Make sure this doesn't happen again, and we'll have no problems. I think this might be the start of a great relationship."

Gato stopped his shivering upon the realization that his life was not in any danger. A grim smile crept onto his face, and he adjusted his glasses before responding, "I feel the same way. There is one thing, however..."

Danzo's face took on a stern expression, his limited knowledge of the trash before him making him well aware of the request that would be forthcoming. "And what, may I ask, would that be?"

Gato swallowed as chills slowly scaled his spine. "I felt you should be informed of the reasons that Yusuke-sam-Yusuke took his actions. A percentage of sales makes it very difficult for our organization to turn a profit. We acquire our product for about 80% of its retail cost, and I'm sure you can see why..." Gato trailed off as the elder's expression intensified.

"You are a resourceful individual. If you wish to make money in this country, you will find a way to uphold our bargain. Do not make the error of assuming your obligations are mine as well." Turning on his heel as he signaled his agents to escort the new crime boss out of the compound, he allowed himself to strike a little more intimidation into his new "partner." "This meeting is finished. As I'm sure you're now aware, I have some restructuring to expedite. If you're fortunate, we won't be in touch." Nodding to Torune, one of his most trusted ninja, Danzo watched as the Aburame vanished, already knowing his mission.

_'The sacrifices I make for this country.'_

**(x)**

Naruto cursed as another one of his kunai completely missed the target. His competition with Sasuke, not that the other boy was aware of it, was not going well. Of the ten he had been forced to throw for the day's evaluation, only seven had made their way onto the training dummy. Only one of those had managed to hit anything that could be considered vital.

"Motherfucker! Sensei, there's something wrong with these fucking kunai!" The boy's shouting only raised the ire of his teacher.

"Naruto! You're staying after class! Those are not words we use in the academy!" Iruka's head seemed to swell as he responded in kind to his student's complaints. "Not to mention," he began in a quieter voice, "none of the other students seemed to have a problem." The class, which was gathered outside for the exercise, laughed as Naruto's scowl intensified.

Morphing his expression into a smile, Naruto changed tactics. "Ehehe, well, you see sensei, I was practicing for a mission!"

A skeptical look wormed its way onto Iruka's face, his previous anger forgotten. "For missions?"

Naruto nodded vigorously, wholeheartedly believing his excuse would be rewarded with a good grade. "Hell yea! You think some ninja is just going to fucking stand there while I throw kunai at him! I was aiming how I would expect him to move! That's why so many of mine missed."

Iruka went silent for a few seconds, ignoring Sasuke's truthful comment that Naruto would have received a lower grade if that was the exercise's intent and the snickers that followed. The orange-clad student glared at the Uchiha, and was about to pick a fight when Iruka shouted again. "IDIOT! You actually think I would buy that excuse!" Naruto had the good sense to look embarrassed. "And if you swear one more time you're staying after class for the rest of the week!"

The boy "hmph'd" and stomped over to a swing, plopping down in it, caring little about missing the performances of his classmates. He sighed as he dropped the facade and took in the beauty of the schoolyard. The morning mist had lifted and bright rays of sunlight now flooded on to the grass. _'Stupid sun got in my eyes. That's all it was...' _Not even believing his own excuse, the boy began to swing, observing the rest of the class from the shadows beneath the tree. Shikamaru, who had fallen asleep while awaiting his turn, was the new victim of Iruka's anger. Naruto chuckled to himself, _'at least I'm not the only one Iruka-sensei doesn't like.'_ The past few years had been difficult for the boy. His prankster nature had caused a lot of the staff to dislike him, and, as a result, the quality of his instruction, as well as his grades, had dropped significantly. Not only that, but as he grew older his arm caused him more and more pain upon use of chakra. Twice now he had failed the practice graduation exams, unable to make a single bushin upon the flare of pain that accompanied chakra molding.

However, even though most of his days were devoted to garnering attention from the local populace and outrunning chuunin after his pranks, there were moments during which he could be truly happy. The most prominent of these were the walks he would take to and from school with Kurenai and Hinata. The jonin had truly become a big sister to him, the nickname he had given her upon their meeting apparently being prophetic. He had grown close to Hinata as well, and the girl no longer stuttered when he spoke to her. Well, as long as he didn't touch her. He hoped that they would be placed on the same team after graduation. _'Well, if I can manage to graduate,' _the boy bitterly thought to himself. Caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice the approaching instructor until the man opened his mouth.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. I was looking for you!"

The blonde jumped out of his skin, falling off the swing in an undignified heap. "Mizuki-sensei! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

The white-haired man smiled, "You're training to be a ninja, Naruto-kun. You shouldn't let people sneak up on you in the first place." Smirking at the affronted expression the boy adopted, Mizuki continued, "Anyways, I heard you didn't do so well on the test today. Didn't you try the tips I gave you?"

Naruto's voice took on an annoyed tone as he responded to the instructor, "Your tips must not be very good because I completely failed."

Taking great effort to conceal the glee he felt at the aspiring ninja's naivety, Mizuki managed to feign frustration at Naruto. "Naruto, perhaps you should take some responsibility for your failures. If you spent less time causing trouble for the village and more time practicing the tips that I gave you, perhaps you wouldn't fair so poorly? What's the point of my helping you if you don't try to learn?"

The orange boy climbed back onto the swing, his go-to location when he was unhappy. Mizuki was one of the few people Naruto considered important. The man would always offer advice when Naruto was struggling with a technique or had done poorly on an exam. This special status made the boy unable to evaluate the teacher's actions with a critical mind. "I practice as much as I can! I have a B in taijutsu because of your help," Naruto failed to notice the vein that pulsed upon Mizuki's forehead in response to his success, "but nobody will sell me any kunai and the academy doesn't let us take them home!"

Calming himself, the instructor pretended to be concerned about Naruto's plight. "And you think you can become Hokage? You need to think, Naruto! If nobody will sell you tools to practice with, you should get them on your own. What do you think would be a good way to find some on your own?"

"How the hell should I know? It's not like anybody would want the defective crap the stores throw away, and Ninja don't just leave kunai lying..." The boy's rant ended and his eyes brightened as he realized what he had to do. "The training areas! I bet that would be a great place to find some! You're the best Mizuki-sensei!"

The man in question couldn't help but grin at the boy's trust. As long as he made sure Naruto failed the next exam, his plan would go off without a hitch. If there was one thing the brat was good at, it was sneaking around unnoticed. "Just trying to help Naruto. It looks like the class is heading back in, you don't want to be late do you? Can't beat Sasuke without going to school!"

Naruto didn't even say goodbye as he raced off to the classroom. _'No fucking way am I losing to that bastard!'_

**(x)**

Kurenai tuned Naruto out as he continued to talk about Mizuki. She was glad that someone was helping the boy. The beautiful woman often worried about his treatment, the looks he received on their walks, though muffled by her presence, making the village's impression of the boy painfully obvious. She couldn't help but grow attached to the bratty kid; he just had such an upbeat personality and an optimistic view of life. She hoped that didn't change when he undoubtedly failed to graduate come Spring. If it there weren't the strict rules about ninja teaching civilians, Kurenai would have helped him herself. Dust kicked up behind the duo as they walked through the city; it had been a dry year, and there had yet to be rain this winter. The fading sunlight set the shops ablaze and the bustle of the civilian population spoke to Konoha's economic superiority. Walking past Naruto's favorite ramen shop, she instinctually glanced at the boy and his now pleading eyes.

"Naruto, do you want me to treat you to some ramen?"

The boy began to bounce up and down, eagerly nodding his head in lieu of speech, knowing that his voice might betray his excitement. Not that his current behavior was doing a good job of keeping the secret. He quickly changed course for the ramen stand, but quickly halted upon his adopted sister's voice.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Na-ru-to-kun." Naruto gulped at the mirthfully evil expression the woman adopted. "I had to make two trips to the academy today because of you. Don't you realize that your misbehavior affects people besides yourself? I doubt Iruka wants to work late, and Hinata was quite upset that you didn't get to walk home with her today."

The boy took on a sorrowful expression. "I'm sorry, onee-chan. I don't mean to get in trouble, and I like walking with Hinata too, but Iruka-sensei just has it out for me!" His face quickly made his outrage clear. " I have to stay after the rest of the week because I did badly on the test today!"

Kurenai's eye adopted a tick as she heard Naruto's attempt to bullshit her. "Naruto Uzumaki." The boy once again gulped, his hand moving behind his head as he adopted his trademarked position of nervousness. "I know exactly why you had to stay after today, _and_ for the rest of the week. If I ever hear you use those words you'll never eat ramen again."

The blonde adopted a look of utter terror at this statement. Life simply would not be worth living without his favorite food! "I don't even remember those words anymore! I promise you'll never hear me say them! Please believe me!"

Kurenai grinned good-naturedly at how easy the boy was to manipulate, and began to initiate her original plan. "Well, I have a little motivation for you, to make sure that you behave in school. How would you like it if I bought you ramen every Friday?" The question really did not need to be asked. Regardless, the dazed look and river of drool on the academy student's face answered it. "Well, since you clearly like the idea so much, I'll gladly do it. On one condition." She tried to look stern but found it quite difficult due to the comical nature of the scene in front of her.

"I'll do anything onee-chan! Just buy me ramen!" Naruto drew the attention of everyone in the area with his shout, accompanied by raising his fist and jumping in the air.

"I'll only buy it for you if you haven't stayed after a single day that week. Do you think you can do that?", she asked slyly.

Fire burned in sapphire eyes as Naruto vowed he would never get in trouble again. "I promise! And I don't go back on my word, that's my ninja way! I won't stay a single day until I'm a genin!"

Kurenai's face lit up in a brilliant smile, "Great! Hinata will be very happy to hear that. And you just might find out how much Iruka cares about you when you stop causing him so many problems."

Naruto pouted. Big sisters could be really annoying. But one thing was for certain - he had a new goal for himself, and he wouldn't fail no matter what!

He didn't miss single Friday of ramen for the rest of the schoolyear.

**(x)**

Naruto jumped through the forest, rapidly arriving at his destination and unloading his burden. This was a mission that he couldn't fail. The moon did little to light up the decaying leaves on the ground, or the scroll that the boy was rapidly searching through, praying to find a technique that he would be capable of learning. His eyes were alight with a beautiful determination, glowing in the night like those of an animal. He calmed down as he decided on a technique: the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Too focused to notice the irony in his choice, he threw his heart and soul into training. He had no choice; if he failed to succeed, he would lose his dream of being a ninja.

The graduation exam had been today. Despite Naruto's best attempts at behaving himself, paying attention in class, and practicing the material, he had been unable to form even a single bushin. As usually happened when he molded chakra, the instant he began to focus it for the technique a violent pain lit up his entire arm. It felt like thousands of tiny worms were crawling through his skin. Iruka, who had developed a stronger relationship with the now behaving student, was saddened by his lack of options. He had no choice but to fail the boy. Mizuki had attempted to argue that Naruto be passed - after all, his grades had steadily improved over the past few months and the boy was clearly in pain - but Iruka, always one to stick to the rules, had denied him. A ninja that was unable to perform such a basic technique would be a danger not only to himself, but to his comrades as well.

Naruto had understood Iruka's decision. There was no reason to get upset or throw a fit when he had clearly failed the basic requirements of the test. He had just nodded and slowly trudged out the door, making his way to the schoolyard's swing. He had been elated to learn after class that there was another method for passing the graduation exam. Mizuki, always looking out for Naruto, had explained that Iruka cared about the boy as well as the mission the blonde would have to accomplish in order to earn a forehead protector. It was for this reason that the future Hokage was now in the clearing, the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing successfully stolen from the Sandaime's office. It was for this reason that his frustration was rapidly building at his inability to complete the technique, his arm, what he once considered to be the miracle that would grant him access to the ninja ranks, was now responsible for his failure to do so.

But he wouldn't give up. Naruto Uzumaki was a ninja of guts, and nothing would stand between him and his goals.

**(x)**

Iruka was racing through the woods, almost certain of where Naruto would be heading. He had grown to care deeply for his student, and was shocked that the boy would commit such a crime after demonstrating perfect behavior for the last half of the school year. _'But then again,'_ he mused, _'such a disappointment would change anyone's behavior. He lost his dream.' _ His thoughts were brought to a halt as he heard the angered shouting of his blonde student. With one last leap, he landed in the clearing, taking in the haggard sight of the preteen. Naruto was covered in sweat and seemed to be barely standing. The Forbidden Scroll was open toward the edge of the clearing, making it quite clear that there was no mistake: Naruto had committed a capital offense and betrayed the village.

Surprisingly, Naruto noticed Iruka before the man had a chance to speak. "Iruka-sensei! Please, I just need a little more time! I'm so close to learning the technique, but my arm keeps messing me up! ... I really want to become a ninja and graduate."

Iruka was confused. "Naruto, what are you talking about? The graduation test was earlier today. You'll have to try again next year."

"Don't lie to me! Mizuki-sensei told me about the extra test I could take. He told me about this scroll and that if I learn a technique from it I'll be able to graduate anyways!"

Realization dawned on Iruka the same moment that kunai and shuriken were whizzing threw the air towards him and Naruto. He quickly leapt into action, grabbing the blonde and racing out of the way before spinning around to confront their attacker.

Mizuki stood on a tree branch, a foul expression on his face. "I guess you knew him better after all, Iruka. I can't believe you found him before I did!"

Iruka glared at his former friend and coworker, unable to believe that the kind man had tricked an academy student into such an act. "What is the meaning of this? I would have never expected you capable of such a thing. I can't believe you would betray the village like this!"

Naruto was looking on in confusion, wondering why Mizuki had tried to attack Iruka and why the kindly man hadn't known about the bonus graduation test.

Mizuki quickly realized that things were not going his way. If Naruto was swayed to Iruka's side, his entire plan would become infinitely more difficult. "Naruto, don't be confused by Iruka. He's right, I am betraying the village. There's a law that says nobody is allowed to help you or allow you to graduate. Haven't you noticed how the villagers look at you? How everyone treats you? Don't you know why?"

Fear and uncertainty began to swallow the boy. Could this possibly be true? Could the village hate him so much that nobody was even allowed to be nice to him? He couldn't help but ask his teacher for the answer. "Mizuki-sensei... what are you talking about? What do you know that I don't!"

Mizuki grinned, happy that the boy had fallen right into his trap. "You see, Naruto... the village, the ninja, everyone doesn't like you because you are the Kyuubi. You are the nine-tailed demon that attacked Konoha twelve years ago!" At the shocked and hopeless expression on the frozen blonde's face, Mizuki knew that he had won. He quickly reached for the large shuriken on his back and threw it at the child. _'Good riddance.' _He was shocked, but happy his job became less difficult, to see Iruka jump in front of Naruto and take the weapon to the back.

Iruka, in clear pain, grunted to Naruto, "Don't listen to him, Naruto. You're not the fox. You're Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage and citizen of Konoha! Mizuki tricked you into stealing the scroll so he could betray the village. Take it and run!"

Naruto could do nothing else but listen to his sensei. He grabbed the scroll and raced out of the clearing, only to stop behind a tree when he heard the two men continue the conversation.

Mizuki was annoyed at the man he had once thought of as a friend. "How could you take that demon's side? He killed your parents! He killed hundreds of ninja and civilians! He's the reason the Yondaime is dead!"

"You're right." Naruto felt his heart drop into his stomach. Iruka had been lying after all. Tears began to fall down his face, but he didn't miss his sensei's continuation. "Naruto would be all of those things, if he were the Fox. But he's not. He's a person just like you and me and has protected the village by keeping the Kyuubi imprisoned!"

Iruka pulled the shuriken out of his back and flung it at Mizuki, only to wince at the influence his injury had on his aim. The traitor had easily dodged the attack.

"You know, Iruka, I hadn't planned on killing you tonight. It was just supposed to be Naruto. But I have no problem killing you."

Naruto watched from the sidelines as the two men engaged one another. Mizuki had quickly closed the distance between the combatants, aiming to take advantage of Iruka's weakened physical state by restricting the scarred-nosed man from using ninjutsu. Iruka struggled to parry his opponent's attacks, taking minor wounds from the kunai that Mizuki was savagely wielding. An excessive flash of pain caused the kindly man to falter, giving the white-haired traitor the opportunity he needed to sink the kunai into the schoolteacher's stomach.

Naruto couldn't hold himself back as he watched the man he admired fall to the floor, bleeding profusely. He threw every last kunai he had at Mizuki, attempting to get him away from his sensei in any manner he could. The man just laughed, however, as they all sailed harmlessly by. "I see you've been practicing my tips, Naruto! I can't believe you were too stupid to notice your aim was getting worse as you got better at the techniques I gave you!"

Raged bubbled up into the boy, his irises taking on a reddish hue as he shouted angrily at the person he once respected, "Fuck you! I tried so hard to make you happy! I'm not going to let you hurt Iruka-sensei anymore!" He formed the seals for his new jutsu - if he was going to learn the jutsu, it would have to be now.

Mizuki's eyes widened as the boy formed the seals for the kinjutsu. _'He couldn't have learned anything from that scroll. He's a dead-last!'_ Fear gripped him as the blonde gathered an enormous amount of chakra and began to perform the technique.

Naruto felt everything come together. All his practice, all his effort, all his fighting through pain had brought him to success. He knew the jutsu would work this time. He was going to save his sensei! It was during this line of thinking that he began to scream, his arm igniting into a painful inferno. His technique failed, producing nothing more than a cloud of smoke. The boy fell to the ground, writhing in agony, the physical pain nothing compared to the knowledge that he had failed when it mattered.

The white-haired chuunin watched the cloud of smoke clear with a triumphant grin. He knew the boy wouldn't have been able to accomplish such a feat in a few hours and he scolded himself for even considering the possibility. He walked over to the squirming boy and kicked him in the ribs, causing the boy to fly into the nearest tree and fight for consciousness. Deciding to deal with the harmless child second, he pulled out another kunai and walked over to Iruka, who was barely awake and lying in a pool of his own blood. "My, my Iruka. I can't believe you're still alive." The cruel ninja kneeled down beside his onetime friend and cupped his enemy's cheek. "Don't worry though... I'll take care of that problem nice and quick." Iruka's eyes bugged in horror as Mizuki slit the teacher's throat mercilessly. The traitor watched without expression as the other man bled out onto the forest floor, watching the life fade from his stubborn eyes. He hadn't the time to stand when he felt an enormous killing intent from where he had dropped the boy. His eyes widened in true horror when he witnessed the consequences of his actions.

Naruto's heart had broken as he watched his teacher, his friend, be killed because of his own foolishness and ineptitude. No longer with the will to resist the ferocious energy he had felt making its way to the surface, the boy had surrendered control of his body, only half-aware of the ancient power that was now swirling around his figure in the form of two red tails of chakra. Mizuki stood frozen as Naruto screamed in rage, completely unaware of the ANBU that had just arrived at the scene. He was unable to defend himself against the crushing arm of chakra that grabbed his throat and separated his head from his body in a fiery eruption of blood.

Having killed his first opponent, Naruto began to move on the ANBU, the ferocious tide of rage carrying him to destroy everything, whether they were friend or foe. Disaster was averted, however, as pillars of wood sprung up around him and captured his body, draining the uncontrollable power of the fox. No longer capable of consciousness due to the sudden loss of energy, the boy entered the world of nightmares.

**(x)**

"The council is gathered here tonight in order to discuss the events that transpired earlier this evening. One of our academy teachers, many of you know Mizuki, tricked a student into stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage tower. Mizuki intended to kill the student and abandon the village, but was interrupted by Iruka Umino. The traitor killed his former comrade before being killed himself by the boy he had tricked." Sarutobi felt a great weight pressing upon his shoulders at the realization of what his inaction had cost the village. He had watched in his crystal ball thinking that Iruka would be more than capable of handling the situation. He had failed Naruto once again.

Murmurs from the council brought his attention to the present. "Why did we feel the Kyuubi's chakra? Which student did Mizuki deceive?"

Sarutobi sighed, knowing that the question was inevitable. "Naruto Uzumaki was tricked into stealing the scroll. He used the his power as a jinchuuriki to kill the traitor."

The council once again devolved into quiet discussion at the new information, only to stop as one of the elders called for their attention.

Danzo couldn't believe the opportunity he had been presented with. He had been wanting to get his hands on Naruto for years, believing that the village was wasting is most powerful weapon. If he knew the Sandaime as well as he thought he did, the trap would be easy to spring. "Surely he will be allowed to graduate the academy with such a performance? He was capable of defeating a chuunin-level ninja as well as stealing a closely guarded scroll from the Hokage's office. That is the type of skill we need to have in our ranks. Besides, I hear he almost succeeded in learning the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique in a matter of hours."

The Sandaime was concerned when Danzo began to speak. He knew the man would try and turn this catastrophe into some sort of windfall for himself. Not only that, but he was clearly aware of every detail that transpired during the evening - details he shouldn't yet have. Sarutobi was wary of a trap, but had no choice to answer honestly - if he did not, his only option would be to put the boy onto a genin team and endanger the lives of other ninja. "Naruto was incapable of discerning friend from foe when he used the foxes power. After he removed the immediate threat, he moved to attack the ANBU at the scene. It was only through the use of _that _bloodline that further damage was averted. It would clearly be irresponsible to enter him into our forces."

Danzo nodded in understanding. "That is a very reasonable explanation, and I'm sure the council finds no fault with such logic. I would, however, like to propose a solution to the problem." The clear interest of the room left Sarutobi with no choice but to grant Danzo his chance. "As the majority of you are aware, I was once responsible for a now discontinued program called ROOT. I had great experience working with ninja like Naruto - brash, emotional, and unskilled - and turning them into effective members of the shinobi forces. With almost a one hundred percent success rate they learned to control their emotions and work effectively with a team, and follow orders. Naruto obviously harbors great potential, and we still have not fully recovered from the Kyuubi's attack. If I were allowed to take him under my wing, such potential would not be wasted."

The Sandaime took a glance around the room, knowing instantly where this was heading. That man was ruthless and devious, and the council was now eating out of his hand. Sarutobi had only one rare and uncharacteristic thought: _"fuck."_

**(x)**

**AN: Hopefully this gives you a decent idea of where the story is headed in general. Yes, Iruka is dead. I debated having him just be badly injured, but I think it's almost impossible that a trained ninja like Mizuki would have messed that part up in that situation. **

**Hope you liked the chapter, feel free to review if you did... or didn't :)**


	5. Awakening

**AN: **Welcome back! It's been a hectic couple of months, so very sorry for the extra long delay in my already slow pace. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter, review and fav :) Plus the extra delay in this stupid site's update feature (anyone else notice that _something_ is always broken?)... thanks to PeinsDisciple for letting me know how. Go check out his stories!

[break]

Gray light filtered into the smoky office, casting a somber spell over the room's single occupant, an elderly man gazing out the window upon his forefathers. The gray morning fog partially obscured the village monument, the fourth's face being the only one to poke through, condemning Konoha's aging leader with an unchanging expression.

Sarutobi drank in the earthy spices of aged tobacco, a lit pipe being his only source of relaxation from the previous evening's events. The hokage had attempted to prevent Danzo from taking on Naruto as an apprentice, going so far as to argue that the boy should remain a civilian; after all, there had been a demonstrated risk of uncontrolled bloodlust in combat situations. However, the council had placed their trust in Danzo's ability to develop the boy; a few had even expressed great disappointment that the elderly ninja would even consider leaving the weapon undeveloped. _'I'm getting too old for this. Minato... you should be the one in these robes.' _The stony face of the fourth gave no acknowledgement to Sarutobi's thoughts, never departing from its eternal watch over the village.

The final agreement was that Naruto Uzumaki would not be considered a graduate from the academy until he had demonstrated both the required skills for graduation and significant improvement in emotional discipline. Danzo had been given approximately six months to develop the boy, whose growth was to be displayed in the upcoming Chuunin exams. At that point the boy would be assigned a rank equivalent to his abilities - which the old ROOT leader claimed would result in a direct promotion to Chuunin. Sarutobi sighed deeply. Hopefully there would still be a _person_ to promote. He had no illusions the ROOT program the crippled warmonger so believed in had actually been abandoned, and was quite aware of the organization's concept of an ideal ninja. Chuckling tiredly, the old man scolded himself for being concerned, _'To even be assuming Naruto could lose himself in such a short time. That boy has more life and attitude than I ever did.'_

Turning away from the window and towards his desk, the hokage grabbed the paper which had prompted his concern for Naruto. The doctor's report had come in quite early this morning and described the current condition of the blonde. The boy was in perfect health despite his first and excessive use of the Kyuubi's chakra; there would be no reason to delay his apprenticeship. He sighed, mumbling a quick prayer to whichever deity watched over ninja.

Movement outside the window caught his attention, and the Sandaime adjusted his focus to a nearby tree. He watched as a mother hawk took one of its chicks from the safety and warmth of its nest and pushed it to the edge of the branch. The hesitant youngling attempted to push back, but with a final shove from its mother, the young bird of prey was sent flailing towards the ground. It opened its beak, chirping loudly, and spread inexperienced wings, desperately attempting to stop its descent. However, its vigorous flapping did little to slow its fall, and the chick was dashed across the rocks as an easy meal for whichever animal arrived first.

[break]

Danzo's visible eye held a predatory hunger as he entered the room. Cracked brick lined the walls, while the floor and ceiling were nothing more than damp dirt, fresh roots apparent to even the least discerning individual. Allowing the heavy, metal door to screech shut, he turned his attention to the dimly lit hospital bed, studying the helpless boy who occupied it. The child's hair took on a shadowed, reddish hue from the flickering candlelight, a stark contrast to the sunny blonde mess that usually perched atop his head. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead, and the white sheet that partially covered his body was drenched through; no doubt the result of some horrific nightmare.

Danzo moved for the bedside, only to pause as his cane collided with something on the floor. Adjusting his gaze downward, he looked with surprise at the discolored, swollen body of the boy's nurse; after briefly bending down to confirm her death, he began to search the room for the source of her current state. Certain that Torune would not have let an intruder slip by, the war hawk's eye settled on Naruto's exposed arm, curiously examining it for the first time.

Where until recently there had been smooth flesh, a scaly pattern had developed, giving the limb a rough, scarred appearance. More interesting, however, was the barely noticeable sheen that covered it - a detail a lesser ninja would have ignored entirely, or brushed off as sweat. Putting on a plastic glove out of a nearby box, Danzo gently lifted the boy's arm to his nose, inhaling slightly in an attempt to confirm his suspicions.

A rare smile slid upon the elder's face as he left the bedside and moved to exit the room. _'Naruto Uzumaki... it seems you are more interesting than I expected. Enjoy your rest; soon you won't even recall the meaning of the word.'_

[break]

Naruto groaned softly as he slowly came to. His head pounded to the rhythm of his heart beat, and his right arm felt as if he'd put it too close to a flame. He cracked his eyes open, but shut them upon the realization he couldn't see past the edges of his bed, courtesy of the room's single candle's positioning. Temporarily brushing aside his discomfort, the blonde attempted to unravel the mystery of his location, briefly considering the implications of the frequency of which he ended up in these situations; he wasn't even a ninja yet.

He bolted upright as the thought dredged up forgotten memories of the previous evening, and he simultaneously began to loudly vomit into his lap; little came up besides the distasteful flow of stomach acid and spittle. Continuing to dry heave long after his stomach ran out of juices, he only subconsciously acknowledged that the door to his room had been shoved open, allowing several dark figures to enter. He was quickly grabbed and pulled back down onto his bed, the new angle convincing his stomach to relax. Naruto lay in a trance-like state as one of the room's shadows began to gently wipe his mouth with a dry cloth; though the blonde's eyes were wide open, they only saw the bloody image of Iruka, throat cut and spilling out onto the forest floor.

Only when a cane smashed into the side of his face did the boy realize he had been staring into the ceiling for what must have been minutes, to the great concern of the lone doctor in the room. He winced as blood began to drip out of his mouth and pool on the sheets, but nonetheless made no noise as he turned to discover the source of his present pain.

His blue eyes looked up into the single brown eye of an elderly man; an elderly man who appeared to be profoundly displeased. Though, what reason would he have to be happy? Bandages covered most of his face and one of his arms, and the cane polished the man's image as a crippled war veteran. Losing interest in the geezer, Naruto turned his gaze back to the earthy ceiling, but when the haunting image of his teacher was the only thing waiting for him, he could no longer keep his mouth shut.

In a raspy whisper, he began, "Geezer -"

CRACK! Pain exploded in his face as the cane once again collided with it. Unable to control his anger, the blonde began to shout, though the sound produced was reminiscent of a smoker's voice, "Hey what the fuck was that for! You fucking asshole, stop hitting me in the godamn face!"

The elder looked down into the boy's eyes, noting for a brief moment that the candlelight was not the only fire within them, and replied calmly, as if he hadn't just split open the child's face, "Consider this your first lesson: you are to respect your elders, and your betters. It is your failure to do this that has caused your current predicament. Each time you are disrespectful, you will be punished in this manner; your thoughts will not be heard until you can present them both calmly and politely. Do I make myself understood?"

It took all of Naruto's limited self-control to somewhat extinguish the unpleasant glare on his face, but he managed to response appropriately, "Yes... sir."

The bandaged man appeared to be temporarily sated, and spoke once more, "Now, what were you going to say?"

A brief glimmer of hope passed over the boy's face as he took the plunge, "Iruka-sensei... is he...?" The blonde wore his heart on his sleeve; the wrong answer would send him spiraling into depression, but the right one had the potential to reawaken his spirit.

Danzo leveled his gaze at Naruto. "You'll have to be more specific, I'm afraid I can't understand what you're getting at. Only worthless children are too weak to speak their mind."

Naruto bit back the insult on his tongue and gathered up all the courage he had left, "How badly was Iruka-sensei hurt last night?"

The elder's expression managed to increase in sternness, much to Naruto's awe. Staring at the blonde, he took a potent pause before answering, "Iruka was killed last night." A twitch from his cane waylaid the incoming interruption, and he continued, "You have nobody to blame but yourself. You were deceived because you were a fool, and Iruka died because you were too weak to protect yourself. Iruka saw you for who you really are; that is why he refused to let you graduate. And now, because of what you could not see yourself, one of the few people that cared about you is dead."

The rage that had bubbled up in his chest was quickly extinguished as Danzo went on. Memories passed through Naruto's head - of Iruka treating him to ramen, of his teacher jumping in front of the shuriken meant for his student, and of Mizuki slitting the man's throat. _'It can't be my fault... Mizuki is the one who killed Iruka, he was a chuunin! I can't be expected to beat him.'_ Naruto spoke quietly, "That's not true. Mizuki is the one who...", he trailed off, unable to say it, "... I can't be expected to beat a chuunin, there was nothing I could do."

Danzo gave a distasteful look to the blonde before responding, "Is this what the academy turns out these days? Selfish brats who are unable to take responsibility for their own failings? Any other ninja in your class would have been able to help Iruka enough that Mizuki would have been defeated; or, more accurately, any other ninja in your class wouldn't have been so _stupid_ as to end up in such a situation!" Resisting the urge to smirk as the boy's face sunk in on itself, the elder continued, "Not only that, but you managed to kill Mizuki by yourself, after he had killed your sensei. You had the strength all along, but were too weak to dredge it up. Men carve their own destinies, but little boys push their failings onto the shoulders of others. You are still a child."

Naruto's only reply was to stare at the decrepit walls, incapable of mustering the fire to disagree. _'I'm sorry... Iruka-sensei. I didn't mean for this to happen...'_

Danzo reached out, deceptively fast for his appearance, and grabbed Naruto by the jaw, turning the boy's head and stealing his attention from the damaged bricks. "So is that how it's going to be? Content to sit in your weakness and wallow in your despondency? I had such lofty goals for you as well, I thought that I could turn you into the man your _father_ was."

The blonde's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, and he was once again coaxed into wavering speech by Danzo's words, "Sir, you - you knew my father?"

The elder waved his hand, dismissing the question, "It's not important, it'd be too hard on you to understand how disappointed you would have made him."

Tears began to fill the boy's sapphire eyes; he wasn't capable of taking such abuse much longer. "P-please, sir, p-please tell me."

Feigning defeat, the old relic replied, "Well, if you insist on knowing." Danzo took a calculated pause before continuing, "Your father was the Yondaime hokage, and the strongest ninja that Konoha has ever produced. I don't see the point in making such a fact known though; he's dead now, and it's best that you don't tarnish his reputation. He gave his life to seal the Kyuubi into you and protect our village; he was different than you, than the whimpering baby I see before me."

Gathering a new, unbidden resolve, Naruto croaked out a reply through his trembling lips and watery eyes, "You said... you said you wanted to make me like him. I - I don't want to ruin his reputation. Please, please don't give up on me sir. I'll become strong and protect the village! I won't let any of my precious people get hurt anymore!" The boy was now shouting, tears streaming down his face in a blatant display of passion. "Please, make me strong!"

Danzo stared at the emotional wreck before him, pretending to think over the boy's request. After what seemed like hours to Naruto, Danzo opened his mouth and spoke, "Very well. You'll begin the first thing tomorrow." He gestured to one of the shadows in the room, waiting as it stepped forward into the light. "This is Torune. He will train you until you become worth my time."

Naruto stared at the strange man. Almost his entire body was covered in black clothes, only the lower half of his face was exposed. Small glasses, built into the Aburame's mask, eerily reflected the flickering light, and made the man's expression unreadable. He was so entranced by his appearance that when Torune opened his mouth Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Hello Naruto. You will call me Torune-sensei. I will collect you in the morning." With that brief introduction, the Aburame pulled open the screeching metal door and exited the room.

Danzo moved toward the door, clearly intending to follow his subordinate. He paused halfway, turning his head to speak one last time. "Don't forget what you owe your forefathers, boy." The veiled threat loosed, the war hawk exited the room and finally allowed his hidden eye to stop spinning. Naruto, left alone with the doctor, barely felt the pinprick that pushed him into a fitful slumber.

[break]

The blonde sputtered and coughed as the cold liquid washed over him, dragging him out of his fitful nightmares and into the land of the living. Sitting up, he glared daggers at Torune, only to become further annoyed when his gaze passed by unnoticed. Sliding out of the sheets and onto the soft, dirt floor, the boy stretched and tried to keep his mind away from the events of the past few days. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure where he was, how he had gotten there, or the name of that vicious old bastard. As his thoughts began to spin towards disgruntlement, the specter of an Aburame interrupted him.

"Put these on. Mind your bandages."

Naruto slowly took the bundle of clothes his new teacher was thrusting towards him, and glanced at Torune expectantly.

Torune did the same. "What are you waiting for? Put them on."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but, remembering at least a little from the previous day, opted to keep his thoughts to himself. _'What kind of fucking pervert is this guy, making me change in front of him? I'm in some underground room, with a bed, stripping in front of some strange man. Great fucking job this time, Naruto. I wonder how many days it'll be until I wake up with a sore asshole.'_

Nevertheless, the boy sorted out the pile of clothes, removed the hospital gown, and began to clothe himself. He wanted to complain about the tasteless attire - a plain, black, long-sleeved shirt, matching pants, and a very short jacket, with the necessary undergarments thrown in - but once again kept his mouth shut, choosing instead to get dressed as quickly as possible. _'But really, no orange? This is such bullshit.'_

He began to put on the shirt, only to notice for the first time the white bandages that laced their way up to his right shoulder. The burning feeling from yesterday had faded somewhat, so Naruto shrugged to himself and finished pulling the shirt over his head, careful not to peel away his decorative armwear as he slid his arms through the sleeves.

"Hey, Torune, what -"

Naruto never got to finish his sentence, spewing out his remaining air in a drawn out wheeze. He briefly looked at Torune's fist, which happened to be jammed into his stomach, before crumpling to the floor and gasping for air. _'The FUCK? What the fuck is wrong with these assholes. Fucking four-eyed pervert, and he fucking hits me for no reason too!'_

Noting the enraged expression on Naruto's face, Torune calmly explained the situation. "My name is Torune-_sensei_. Follow me."

The blonde glared daggers at his sensei's back, crawling to his feet and following the man out into the hallway. Torune's transgression was soon forgotten, however, as Naruto began to take in the rest of his surroundings. The same moist, dirt floor was underfoot, and the now familiar color of old bricks denoted the walls. Large roots would occasionally create a cracked mound in the hallway, breaking up the monotony of the passageway; aside from the infrequent, but uniformly positioned, torches lining the walls, there was the occasional steel door - identical to that of Naruto's room. _'I wonder if it's just as loud...'_

Naruto nearly crashed into his sensei as Torune stopped abruptly in front of one of the doors. The loud screech of rusted metal confirmed what the blonde had suspected, and he followed his teacher into the dimly lit room. Unlike the confined space of his new residence, this area was a large cavern, the erratic shaping of the walls and roof implied that it had been formed naturally. Torches hung in the various crevasses that lined the walls, and the floor of the cave had been flattened out to accommodate the training mats spread over the ground.

Torune glided over to the center of the mats, beckoning for Naruto to approach. Not having another option, the boy trudged over and attempted to conceal his shock when the door screeched shut on its own. Once the blonde had reached his destination, his sensei sat and motioned for him to do the same.

"This is one of our training areas. You will spend most of your time here. I will spend my time teaching you basic ninja skills, and then leave you to improve your strength and practice the day's lessons."

Torune's words reassured Naruto somewhat - at least these people were going to train him. But, for the first time in his life, he raised his hand, only speaking once his sensei nodded. "Torune-sensei, shouldn't you be teaching me some badass jutsu? Basic ninja skills are for basic ninja."

The Aburame quirked his head, apparently confused by the nature of Naruto's question. "Do you think the Hokage Tower was built on sand?"

Naruto responded quickly, "I'm not sure what that has to do with anything -"

Torune cut him off. "It has to do with everything. When I am sent on missions, I almost never use a jutsu outside of Henge or Kawarimi. Success comes from precise movement and technique, not chakra wasting jutsu."

"Neh, but, shouldn't ninjutsu be important for a ninja?"

Naruto was suddenly paralyzed by killing intent as Torune leveled his eyes at him, "Remember to address your superiors formally. I let you off last time, but I won't warn you again." Satisfied that his student had been sufficiently reprimanded, he continued, "Ninjutsu can be very important to a ninja, but it is worthless without the basics. Jutsu enhance your foundation, they should not become it."

The blue-eyed boy could not muster up the spirit to disagree; he had been wrong about himself, it only made sense that he would be wrong about everything else. _'I won't let ... that ... happen again. I'll listen and make you proud Iruka-sensei, I promise!' _

Attempting to avoid despondency, Naruto changed the topic. "Torune-sensei, I had another question. Why is my arm bandaged?"

Mincing no words, his sensei replied, "It killed the nurse who had been looking after you; it excretes poison and appears to be deadly to the touch. It is the reason I was chosen to train you. Our abilities are somewhat similar."

The blonde's face blanched at the news that he had indirectly killed his caretaker. _'Everyone around me... keeps dying.'_

Unaware of the boy's distress, Torune moved on. "We won't be dealing with that for some time. Now, stick out your tongue so we can begin."

Naruto complied, opening wide and letting his tongue loll out, watching apprehensively as his sensei approached. Torune quickly pulled out a slip of paper, inked some symbols on it, and pressed it onto his student's tongue.

Naruto's eyes widened as the paper came in contact with his mouth; the sensation was agonizing, as if his entire tongue was being doused in hot coals. Just as he was about to scream, the sensation stopped, leaving him strangely dazed and his tongue feeling heavy. He attempted to speak, but failed to produce anything greater than garbled gibberish, clenching his fists as his frustration began to build. _'Couldn't fucking tell me it would hurt I guess. Thanks a lot.' _Naruto began to clench is jaw and glare and Torune, only to stop as a crippling agony washed over his body. The needle like feeling covered his body and left him breathless and immobile until it passed. Shuddering, the blonde righted himself, having fallen over during the ordeal, and gave an exhausted, questioning look to his teacher.

"I've placed a seal on your tongue," Torune said calmly. "It prevents you from talking about Danzo-sama. We all have one. Yours has an additional seal that will eventually be removed; the effects should help you develop some control over your emotions. Elite ninja don't have such things, and many lesser ninja have been killed by their own anger."

Naruto made an enormous effort not to unleash the outburst that was attempting to build itself up within him; the injustice of the situation was unreal. These people had casually put such a seal on him, as if he were nothing more than a pet to be trained. It was to no avail, however, and he was once again shuddering on the ground. The pain, though excruciating, was brief, and the second dose was more than enough to cool his growing hatred. The blonde gasped for air and once again sat up, not trusting himself to look at his sensei.

Torune stood, motioning for Naruto to do the same. "We will start the first lesson. You will be unable to speak for a few hours, so listen well."

The rest of the morning failed to improve Naruto's spirits; in fact, the session ended with the boy feeling humiliated and incompetent. Torune had introduced him to something called 'ballet,' which the blonde not only considered to be completely feminine, but was also incapable of performing with any degree of success. After forcing his student through hours of exasperation, the Aburame had left, leaving behind some sort of "food," instructions on how to spend the rest of his day, and the threat that Naruto would only rest when he was told.

For the first time in days, however, the boy felt no urge to goof off. The memories, and knowledge of his father, spurred him into action. He had been thrown out of the nest, and it was only through hard work that he could foresee any chance of a future.

[break]

**AN:** Hope it was enjoyable. Torune is a character that doesn't get enough exposure; I want him to be characterized as someone who is blunt, to the point, and lacking a full emotional capacity. Also, inexperienced with teaching and trying his best to fulfill Danzo's orders.

Reviews are appreciated, if there are ways I can improve things I'd like to know. I'm worried it might feel like I'm rushing - I know what I want to do with the story and am trying not to mess it up by sprinting there. I'm willing to answer any questions through PM as well.

Til next time!


	6. Rule Number 1

_**AN: And after a long wait, here it is. Read the AN at the end for information regarding future updates.**_

The breeze roused him from his slumber, and his eyes slowly creaked open. Silk sheets were tangled around his naked body, and he was content to lie still as the warm wind ghosted over his sunny locks. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he looked out upon the balcony; he knew she was out there, taking in the concert of crickets and soaking up what remained of the day's heat. He slowly extricated himself from his luxurious prison and padded over to the doorway, the twinkling of the night sky barely noticeable; the moonlight filled her eyes with a far more alluring depth.

"You're up late."

She started, and whatever mystery had been in her jade orbs faded, replaced with a mischievous twinkle that mirrored his own. Her eyes ran over his body unbidden as he leaned against the doorframe with a soft smile on his face; her lips seemed suddenly dry, but she managed to appear disinterested as she scolded him, "You should put some clothes on! Someone might see you!"

He grinned, being acutely aware of her mannerisms. He trotted over toward the railing, wrapping his arms around her from behind, his head leaning over her shoulder, "Oh? I thought it might be more fun if you took yours off instead."

She leaned against him, tipping her head back to whisper in his ear as she ground herself against his crotch, "I'm not sure... I might need some _help._" She punctuated her statement with a soft nip on his earlobe, sending shivers throughout his thighs.

He pushed her against the railing, grinding softly against her as he slowly kissed his way down her neck. She barely heard his low whisper that helping is something he's very good at. He knew he was having an effect on her by the way her breath caught in her throat and the gently glistening perspiration that was beginning to form on her brow. Or it could have been the way she boldly reached for his rapidly growing member, giving it a testing squeeze; he couldn't help but moan.

V

Sai was surprised to find a sleeping boy, near his own age, when he wandered into the training all. Curiosity made him sneak over: what kind of person would take the risk of snoozing in Danzo's training area? If anyone noticed, and someone would, such laziness would be punished severely.

As he arrived at the ninja's collapsed body he allowed his pale face to gaze downward and take in the boy's features. He wore the typical black garb of ROOT - the only item of note was the golden blonde hair nested atop his scalp.

Sai took a step back, reevaluating his previous conclusion. There, at the crux of the boy's thighs, was a rapidly growing bulge. Eyes wide, Sai knelt down on the floor to get a closer look. 'His dick is enormous! Is he using padding?'

Taking a quick glance to make sure nobody was watching, Sai reached forward and gave a testing squeeze, surprised when the boy moaned loudly.

V

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, woken by the throbbing between his thighs. The sight he woke to was more than enough to kill that pressing problem, however. A pale-faced boy, dressed in ROOT garb, was kneeling over him with a curious expression on his face. And, upon closer examination, his hand wrapped around Naruto's member.

"WHAT IN THE FUCK?"

As the startled Naruto attempted to get up and scramble away from this strange variety of pervert, the boy in question whipped his blade from his back and pressed it against the blonde's throat. "You know, Horsedick," he spoke cooly, "I think Danzo-sama would be quite unhappy to find that you were sleeping in the training hall. It might be best if we both ignored this... misunderstanding."

Unable to form words around the strange combination of molestation and death threats, Naruto simply gave a small nod with wide eyes, too stunned to move as Sai slowly backed out of the room, blade raised in a preemptive defense.

It was a few minutes before Naruto managed to sit himself up, still trying to wrap his head around what had happened. "Are there any normal people down here?"

V

"Naruto, what's the name of this instrument?"

Torune was holding up a line of ninja wire decorated by a handle on each end, slightly annoyed by the fact that his student did not seem to be paying the lecture much attention.

"Ehhhhh that one... that one is a garrote!" Naruto answered excitedly, surprising even himself by knowing the answer. "Err..", he quickly followed up, "Torune-sensei." He braced himself for the punishment for forgetting his formalities, but was surprised when it never came. Instead, his sensei asked him another question.

"Why is this a useful tool for a ninja?"

Naruto swallowed subconsciously as he pondered the purpose of the weapon. "Torune-sensei, a garrote is useful for a silent kill. It is also a weapon used by non-ninja assassins, so it helps cover our tracks as well!"

Torune stared at the ground briefly as if considering a course of action before he disappeared in a flash, appearing behind Naruto and looping the weapon around his neck. The child struggled as Torune dragged him across the floor, manipulating the blonde whichever way he saw fit.

Naruto was gasping in shock, had pain lancing through his body due to his barely restrained anger, and was generally confused at this reaction to his detailed answer when Torune whispered softly in his ear, "That was a good answer, Naruto. One I would expect from a top student in the Academy. However, as you just saw, you missed the most important aspect of this weapon: it grants you complete control over your opponent."

"Fu - - Er, Torune-sensei, was that really necessary?," Naruto managed to spit out between ragged breaths, nearly failing to suppress the urge to cuss his teacher out.

Torune stood up and glided towards the exit, looking back to reply curtly, "You are the type who learns through experience. Practice the looping techniques on the dummies for the rest of the day."

The door to the training area slammed shut and Naruto was once again left alone to his thoughts. The boy was struggling to figure out his new sensei - sometimes the man was quiet, even kind, but this behavior was punctuated with the occasional lecture or act of violence against his student. Naruto was frequently left wondering whether his teacher's methods were the result of some suppressed perversion or if there was actually rhyme and reason to the inconsistencies. He shook his head. 'Time will tell, I suppose.'

He stood up and pulled a length of ninja wire from his weapons pouch - which, sadly, did not contain any actual weapons. He struggled, but managed to knot some handles onto the bit of wire. He sighed to himself upon the realization that he would have trouble utilizing such a device in the heat of battle.

Fixing his eyes upon a dummy, he envisioned the rear of his opponent. He snuck up behind it, pitter patter of footsteps quite evident, and successfully looped the wire around his enemy's neck. He was just about to practice strangling his target when a noxious piece of fabric found its way around his own neck. For the second time in minutes, Naruto was dragged across the ground, clawing at his throat. As quickly as it began, it was over, and Naruto spun around, only to recognize his attacker instantly as the perverted molester from earlier.

Sai watched as Horsedick's face contorted; he wasn't sure, but the expression seemed similar to that which his books called anger. His musing were cut short, however, as his playmate collapsed. 'Maybe I shouldn't have pulled so hard... Danzo-sama won't be pleased if I've damaged him.'

Naruto struggled to stay calm - he couldn't tolerate embarrassment from his seal, at least not in front of this asshole. "What in god's name... is wrong with you?"

"You were performing the technique poorly. I decided to assist with a demonstration." Sai was slightly miffed at the attitude he was getting from this boy; he had just provided a free service! 'I'd better study more to adjust to his moodiness. My books say that men with big dicks tend to be alpha males, and that surrounding oneself with alphas is imperative for success!'

"Is that seriously what you people think help is? Dragging me across the floor by my throat?" Naruto winced as the emotions of his last sentence caused the pain to start through his body once again.

"My name is Sai."

"Uh... okay..."

The pale-faced youth continued, "It's considered good manners to introduce oneself to a potential friend."

Now utterly confused at this ROOT member's social retardation, the blonde decided to respond in kind and be done with it. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you, Sai."

Sai let a creepy smile appear on his face, seemingly way too happy to find out his comrade's name. "My book says nicknames help friends grow close to each other. Do you mind if I call you Horsedick?"

Naruto, too bewildered to grow angry, mumbled a response, "Only if I can call you Pasty."

Sai's smile, defying possibilities, grew even larger upon hearing the nickname that his new friend had given him. "That's great, Horsedick. I think we'll get along just fine! What would be a better way to help with your training?"

Giving up, Naruto decided the worst that could happen - molestation - was already a part of his life and that there was nothing wrong with taking on a training partner. "Maybe you could do some more demonstrations, but on the dummies?"

Sai nodded his head eagerly. "First, make sure to hold it like this ..."

V

"He and Sai have been working together, Danzo-sama. Should I allow it?" Torune was kneeling before the old war hawk, putting forth an effort to appear unconcerned. Having a student was a new experience, and for the first time in his ninja career he found himself second guessing a large number of his decisions.

"No, that will be fine. Sarutobi would be quite upset if his social development were stunted." The old man chuckled, "After all, the whole point of this is for him to join a team!"

Danzo rose from the wooden chair he had been occupying, moving confidently to activate the privacy seals inside the room. "We might have use for Naruto in Wave Country. Make sure to focus heavily on combat - I want to give him a taste before we're forced to return him. It's important that our relationship continues after his instatement as a Chuunin."

Torune raised his head, surprised at the notion of sending his pupil on international missions so soon. "What sort of specific tasks should I prepare him for, Danzo-sama?"

The war hawk tapped his cane on the stone floor, pausing in his pacing across the room. "Torune, if I didn't know better I would think you actually cared about his fate."

Unperturbed, the Aburame smoothly spoke back, "Only so much as it matters to the organization. I want to prepare him well for the missions he will be taking part in."

Giving his subordinate a calculating gaze, the elder elaborated, "We'll be using him, possibly Sai as well, for what children are best at: targeted killings. Make sure he'll be ready."

V

The Sharingan. It is true what they say about the eye, that it unlocks other dimensions through its beauty. From the sharp edges of the tomoe, to the brilliant red hue, to the gorgeous talent of its wielder, the Sharingan is the most precious gem there is. And there are only two sets left - maybe only one, if the youngling fails to develop it. This is what Orochimaru was thinking about as he gazed out upon a remote road from his hiding place. He had been shamefully removed from Akatsuki after failing to take over itachi's body; if only he had acted sooner, things might have turned out differently. His encounter with Nagato, however, had encouraged him to act in the organization's interest a bit longer than he had anticipated. He frowned as he his thoughts forced him to consider his present situation - he had no leverage over the Akatsuki, and that fool Zetsu would likely follow him to the ends of the earth.

His thinking paused as a traveler appeared on the road; her cloak was wrapped tightly around her body in an attempt to disguise her femininity, but Orochimaru was more than capable of seeing what lay underneath. He began to salivate as he thought about his future with her. He didn't usually do two in the same week, but the hunger had been so consuming lately.

He slid down the hillside like a serpent, approaching her from behind. He could tell from her movements that she was just a civilian, this would be even easier than usual. Within inches of his prey, he decided to have a little fun. He leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "Hi there."

She nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around, but was unable to get out so much as a peep before a venomous serpent had managed to incapacitate her. Orochimaru then slung her limp body over his shoulder, reveling in how right, how... familiar... her weight felt to him. Yes, he would admire the trophies he took from this one for some time.

V

He dropped her onto his operating table with a thud; she landed face first. Orochimaru clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Now now, my dear, that just won't do at all. I need to see your face as I cut you up. Kukukukuku."

She was still wrapped up tight in her cloak as well. No matter. That would be fixed in good time. He reached his hands under her body and rolled her over, eagerly awaiting the discovery of her face. However, what he found had him recoiling in terror: her face was that of the woman he had been with three days prior. A woman who's body he had buried in the hills. Even worse, instead of the beautiful blue eyes that he had fallen in love with... her cold gaze contained the ripples of the Rinnegan.

He barely managed to escape as his temporary home exploded into splinters when the corpse summoned an enormous rhinoceros. The beast wasted no time in attempting to trample him, but he successfully maneuvered himself out of the way, cutting his fingers and beginning to perform a summoning of his own. It was to no avail, however, as shrub and dirt flew through the air in a fiery explosion, leaving behind a charred corpse.

Seven figures approached the newly formed clearing, cautiously investigating the aftermath of the explosion. The apparent leader spoke, "Konan... did he escape?"

A gorgeous blue-haired woman, clad in the red clouded cloak of the Akatsuki offered her reply, "No. He was at the center of things."

Any further conversation was abruptly ended as the burnt corpse began to shift and wiggle, its mouth opening wide as Orochimaru climbed out, covered in serpentine filth. He would never admit it, but the sannin felt a great deal of fear upon observation of his surroundings. Nobody has ever been cornered by the Six Paths and survived.

"Nagato... so good to see you." Orochimaru's tone held none of the happiness that his words might imply. "Might I ask for what reason you have interrupted my ritual?"

"I think you're well aware," was the stoic reply.

"I suppose I am." The sannin subconsciously licked his lips. "Your power is delightfully impressive. Being able to push a sannin to such discomfort so quickly is no small accomplishment; however," Orochimaru gave a dramatic pause, trying not to notice as Konan rolled her eyes with disgust, "your arrogance will be your downfall." With those words an enormous cloud of smoke appeared, along with the enormous summoning known as Manda.

The paths, though, seemed relatively prepared for the new development. The Animal Path was already completing a summoning of its own, and the others were racing up the serpent's body, forgoing stealth in an attempt to remove their slippery opponent once and for all. Time stood still, however, and even Pain's stoic face crinkled in confusion, when Manda tossed Orochimaru from his head and snapped him out of the air with one ferocious bite.

The few seconds wasted in bewilderment proved to be too much, as before Manda could be killed the enormous snake disappeared in a second cloud of smoke, providing Orochimaru with the improvised space-time jutsu necessary for his escape.

Konan surveyed the remnants of the battlefield dispassionately. "Maybe he won't spit him out."

"I know I wouldn't," came a voice both parties recognized as black Zetsu.

Pain ignored the potential humor of the situation in favor of issuing orders. "You're to relocate him, he won't stay with the serpents for long. Inform me when you have him." The paths began marching away from the battlefield, a few last words trickling out of Akatsuki's leader: "Konan, let's go."

V

The flickering torchlight created an ominous aura in the tunnel, but Naruto was no longer perturbed by the uneasy atmosphere of Danzo's underground network. The length of time it took to adjust was short - relative to his stay, at least. He rolled his eyes. Not that there was any sense of time in this place. His gravelly footsteps betrayed the floor's grungy composition while small clouds of dust followed in his wake. His body ached from his latest training session, but he knew it would only be a matter of minutes before his passenger finished rebuilding his tissue. Torune was a brutal, but effective, master. Things had changed recently, and now Naruto was repeatedly being ambushed by masked trainees; the typical result was a thorough beating, but his reflexes were improving as the Aburame coached his movements. Through constant tempering the dead last was slowly being developed into a passable combatant.

Naruto quietly berated himself for getting lost in thought. Danzo had summoned him down this passageway - Danzo, who hadn't spoke with him since training had began. He wondered if the geezer knew about his interactions with Sai. Paranoid thoughts caused a warm feeling of nervousness to grow in the pit of his stomach, and the blond gathered his senses, ears and nose twitching as he searched in the dim light for any evidence of an attacker. Yet none came, and he was stuck with the monotonous odor of dust and the repetitive crunch of pebbles under his boots.

He eventually reached the iron door that marked his destination. He approached it cautiously, steeling himself for what he may find inside. Reaching forward to grab the handle, his world exploded in stars as the door swung outward and hit him head on. He was struggling to find his balance as a cloud of dust further obscured the dim light when his instincts screamed for him to move - and just in time: a sharp pain arched throughout his back as he stumbled away from the doorway. The scent of his blood focused his senses, and he spun around to face his attacker, startled by the realization that it was not a member of Danzo's ANBU.

The shadow of a scraggly man was framed by flickering light; the same light obscured the bloodied knife clutched tightly in his hand. The dust floating in the air made him look like some kind of specter. But this was no ninja - likely some homeless who had wandered unacceptably far in search of shelter. Naruto had no time to ponder it further, however, as the man clumsily attacked with a downward swing of the knife. Instincts kicked in as he deflected the assault and sent the man sprawling with an attack to the knees. Naruto followed his opponent to the ground, constraining him with two small arms wrapped around his neck. In a more sober setting the boy would have had to admire the persistence of his enemy, who was still wildly attempting to stab the child that was clinging to his back. Naruto winced as a few thrusts hit home, tightening his grip and struggling to survive against the significantly larger opponent. He kept squeezing as the man's thrusts slowed and his legs began to spasm in a final attempt to break free. With the last of his energy, the blond crushed his throat with a sickening pop, and his opponent finally lay still.

Breathing heavily, Naruto pushed the body out of the way andslowly worked himself to his feet, nearly throwing up upon the sight of his murdered opponent. 'Shit... I didn't want to kill anyone...'

"You did well. It's impressive that your wounds have healed already."

The blond nearly jumped out of his skin upon the sound of Torune's voice. The ghostly Aburame seemed to get a kick out of sneaking up on him. "Torune-sensei...?"

Noticing the discomfort the boy was experiencing with his first conscious kill, Torune decided a reminder of his training might be appropriate. "Naruto, what is the most important rule I taught you?"

The question solved the debate which was raging in his head - namely, whether to turn his attention to his sensei or the fresh corpse. "Never leave an enemy alive, sensei. But... was this man even an enemy?"

Torune looked put off by the question. "Did he try to kill you? Then he was an enemy." Putting a hand on Naruto's back, the Aburame continued, "Come now, we have a meeting with Danzo-sama."

His hair taking on a deep red hue in the light, Naruto walked off, a slight shake in his steps but sparing not a single glance at the body they left behind. This was his life now, for Konoha... for father.

V

**AN: **And that's that. Parts of this I'm not happy with, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to write somewhat competently again. Sorry that it took so long, but I suffer from a mental illness that affects both cognition and motivation - it's very difficult to find times when I am motivated to write and able to do it well. It's probably noticeable that some pieces of this were written at different times based on the change in thought structure. Hopefully it's not too atrocious. I am on a new medication now so updates shouldn't be AS delayed in the future.

Slight spoilers:

Naruto's post-combat hair color will be a running theme. Mild attention to it might be worthwhile.

Orochimaru just escaped Nagato once again - barely - after complaining that he has no leverage against Akatsuki. I wonder what he will want to get?

Naruto's dream at the start is of a situation that will happen in the future - but it won't be as it seems.

You should be able to notice slight adjustments in how Torune behaves toward Naruto - putting his hand on his back at the end, for example. This will become relevant.

His relationship with Sai will be somewhat relevant throughout the story as well, though Sai is not currently planned to be a major player for any real length of time.

Naruto's movements are described as things like sneaking up loudly; this will change as his talent grows.

And just a warning - Naruto will be doing some very unpleasant things in the name of Konoha in the future. He has to in order for the rest of the story to play out; if you're really squeamish it might be a problem.

That's enough rambling, hope you enjoyed, leave reviews and I'll try and address them as best I can. Someone mentioned to use real linebreaks, but I can't get them to work through the site unfortunately. Same person mentioned time skip - I skipped it because it wouldn't be relevant. There won't be any irrelevant fluff here!


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